Showing posts with label Washington Post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Post. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2013

Breaking NEWS RE: IACP: Pharmacy trade group shifts position on federal oversight




The head of the nation’s largest trade group for the specialty pharmacies known as compounders said he will support legislation requiring pharmacies that operate like drug manufacturers to register with the Food and Drug Administration and be subject to stricter standards enforced by the agency.
The new position by the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists follows a Washington Post investigation that showed 15 of the nation’s largest compounding pharmacies, which make custom-ordered medications, operate like drug manufacturers but do not have to register with the federal government follow the same safety laws

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013



Friday, February 8, 2013

Washington Post: The drug in fungal meningitis cases is hard to make and unusually dangerous when contaminated



The drug that has caused 696 fungal infections and 45 deaths over the last six months isn’t one you want sloppy amateurs making.
A long-lasting anti-inflammatory, it is difficult to manufacture in sterile form. Injected into joints or around the spine to relieve pain, it stays in the body for months. It has a bad side effect of suppressing defenses — a real problem if it’s contaminated. If the contaminant is a microscopic fungus, the drug feeds it like fertilizer.
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Washington Post: ‘Compounded’ drugs: looks can deceive

Hannah Foslien/AP - Fatal meningitis outbreak will go down as one of the biggest drug disasters in American history.


Drug compounding — the custom-mixing of drugs for specific patients — predates the industrial production of pharmaceuticals, which started in the late 1800s. Government regulators have let the practice persist for a few reasons. The most often cited is the need for some patients to use medicines free of dyes, binders and other additives
In the last two decades, industrial-scale compounding has emerged as a big — and in some eyes essential — source of drugs.
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