According to the Miami Herald, a compounding pharmacy in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been shut down pending an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into their practices.
Sound familiar? Maybe heard this one before? You know, the one where a group of chemists create, mix and compound drugs in unsanitary conditions?
The Florida case follows an investigation last year into New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts. At the NECC facility, the FDA uncovered unsanitary conditions that caused the injuries and death of thousands of patients around the country, including here in Virginia.
The most recent case appears to be similar to what happened at NECC:
- Federal law prohibits pharmacies from making big batches of compounds.
- Until recently, compound pharmacies did not get the same legal scrutiny as pharmaceutical manufacturers.
- These compounding pharmacies are designed to be one patient, one medication – not big batch manufacturers.
Sadly, it’s going to be an ongoing problem until our laws catch up with public harm.
The bottom line: Until the FDA issues stricter regulations prohibiting compounding pharmacies from harming patients, you should ask your doctors where your medications, injections, treatments are made and demand only safe products.