Local compounding pharmacy reacts to NECC meningitis outbreak

LENOX – As the nation is gripped by the meningitis outbreak caused by drugs from the New England Compounding Center, one local compounder explains they run their operation to a much higher and more controlled standard.

The number of documented U.S. cases of fungal meningitis continues to rise with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting over 200 confirmed cases. Fifteen people have died in the outbreak.

Those numbers could continue to rise. Over 14,000 people may have received the injections, the CDC estimated this week.

The NECC, the pharmacy caught up in the infections, was preparing drugs for bulk, nationwide distribution, raising questions about why it was being considered and regulated as a compounder and not a large manufacturer.

“I cannot understand how this has even happened,” said Joanne Lacey, a pharmacist at Lenox Valley Integrative Pharmacy. “They should never have been making that drug and at that scale.”

That kind of widespread distribution is not what most compounding pharmacies are set up to do.

Locally, the Lenox Valley Integrative Pharmacy has been producing compounds on a far smaller scale since 1994 and has never had any reported issues.

Most compounding pharmacies operate like LVIP, filling individual prescriptions for patients and occasionally making special medicines for clients.

LVIP is not like the NECC, who was preparing and shipping thousands of vials of drugs. Instead they seek to play a crucial role for patients and doctors who need specialty formulations.

“When things are done right compound drugs are very safe and a great service to local doctors,” said Ms. Lacey.

At LVIP, the sterile room — where the drugs and treatments are made — is restricted to workers who are specifically trained and it is inspected every six months to maintain to levels of safety.

When LVIP goes to make a new compound, all of the ingredients are first weighed on digital analytical scales then mixed to provide an even distribution of all ingredients throughout the final product.

To make capsules, the powders are placed in the appropriate sized capsule with a capsule machine, which insures uniform dosing. The capsule is then polished and packaged for dispensing to the patient.

At LVIP they can even turn children’s medicine into lollipops to make it easier to give to them.

While most compounding pharmacies are small and controlled like the LVIP, many Americans are asking how the NECC was allowed to produce medicines at a scale that could affect so many.

Posted by Kameron Z. Spaulding on October 18, 2012. Filed under National News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry