Shortages Impact Compounding Pharmacies

VOL. 128 | NO. 60 | Wednesday, March 27, 2013

In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reported an increase in the number of drug shortages and discontinuations.

The number of drug shortages reported to the FDA gained 41 percent to 251 shortages in 2011, compared to 178 shortages reported in 2010. The agency says it continues to see an increasing number of shortages, including drugs used to treat cancer, anesthetics used for patients undergoing surgery, drugs needed for emergency medicine and injectable drugs. The FDA also has reported a spike in the number of medications that have been discontinued.

Brett Wright, the owner of Benevere Pharmacy in Collierville, says hes noticed an increase in the number of his clients requesting medications that are no longer commercially available.

Wright, who is a pharmacist by training, opened Benevere Pharmacy in May. The pharmacy specializes in custom-making medications that are tailored to meet the medical needs of an individual patient. Sometimes compounding is needed because a patient may be allergic to a certain dye, or an elderly patient may need a medicine in a liquid or suppository form that is not available. In other cases, compounding is necessary because a drug has been discontinued altogether.

Antonio Anderson mixes compounds at Benevere Specialty Pharmacy & Diabetic Supply. Benevere is a compounding and specialty pharmacy company serving Collierville and the surrounding areas.(Daily News File Photo: Lance Murphey)

Bellamine is a drug used to relieve symptoms related to menopause. Its a drug frequently requested at Wrights pharmacy. Thats because the drug was discontinued recently, and can only be made by compounding pharmacies.

Menopause can be a challenging experience for many women, Wright said. We can take the original ingredients and compound them into a capsule.

Midrin, a medication used to treat headaches, is also a popular request, Wright says. The medication has been discontinued within the last year because its manufacturer decided it was no longer commercially profitable.

Drug shortages can occur because of quality and manufacturing issues. Some facilities, particularly those that make older, sterile injectables, are limited by the number of drugs they can make at their facilities for safety and sterility reasons. In other cases, drug manufacturers decide to stop making a particular drug in favor of newer, more profitable drugs.

Originally posted here:
Shortages Impact Compounding Pharmacies