Compounding pharmacies come in many different shapes and sizes. They can consist of a pharmacist creating a drug under a doctor’s prescription or they can be pharmacy-type facilities that compound drugs and sell them like a manufacturer. Sporadic and serious infection outbreaks have been linked to compounding pharmacies outside of the hospital setting.¹ These problems date back to as early as 1976.² Despite attempts by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to make compounding safer, problems still occur.  Read more... (694 words, 1 image, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)

Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc. issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Irbesartan and Irbesartan HCTZ Tablets Due to detection of a Trace Amount of Unexpected Impurity, N- nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) in the Products

Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc., dba Solco Healthcare LLC., has initiated a voluntary recall of one (1) lot of Irbesartan and seven (7) lots of Irbesartan HCTZ Tablets to the consumer level due to the detection of trace amount of an unexpected impurity found in an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals.  Read more... (677 words, 1 image, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is announcing the availability of a revised draft guidance entitled “Current Good Manufacturing Practice—Guidance for Human Drug Compounding Outsourcing Facilities Under Section 503B of the FD&C Act.” This revised draft guidance describes FDA’s policies regarding compounders registered under section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) as outsourcing facilities and the current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) requirements in FDA regulations. Based on feedback from stakeholders and comments received on the initial draft guidance, the guidance is being revised, in part, to reflect further consideration of how CGMP requirements should be applied in light of the size and scope of an outsourcing facility’s operations.  Read more... (5029 words, 1 image, estimated 20:07 mins reading time)