It isn't the active ingredients in question or the fact these drugs were mixed for a custom order. I sincerely believe this is about contamination.
Now, if people want to criticize the industry practices as a new technology with tough competition causing these pharmacies to cut corners on safety, then there may be an argument there. But, this trouble with five now dead and currently 30 struggling for their lives, is due to contamination of a tiny fungus that is normally controlled in all areas of medicine.
This is a very strange incident. It is not about casual contact for these drugs to be contaminated. It should not have happened and it isn't as though there is a NEW glitch in the system. The methodology to prevent Aspergillus contamination has been long standing. Unless this is a new species, either mutated or engineered, then the pharmacy is negligent. There are trusted methods of preventing this fungus from finding its way into the practices of physicians.
Maybe it is best said, "There is a break in protocol in handling these drugs." Just that simple. Something went wrong at the Framingham facility that should not have gone wrong. If the pharmacy is in trouble financially and they were cutting corners that is one possibility. But, this is not about bio-engineering, UNLESS, this is a new species. EVEN THEN, the species would have to be smaller than the current known species in order to have found its way past the filters and protocols.
Now, if people want to criticize the industry practices as a new technology with tough competition causing these pharmacies to cut corners on safety, then there may be an argument there. But, this trouble with five now dead and currently 30 struggling for their lives, is due to contamination of a tiny fungus that is normally controlled in all areas of medicine.
This is a very strange incident. It is not about casual contact for these drugs to be contaminated. It should not have happened and it isn't as though there is a NEW glitch in the system. The methodology to prevent Aspergillus contamination has been long standing. Unless this is a new species, either mutated or engineered, then the pharmacy is negligent. There are trusted methods of preventing this fungus from finding its way into the practices of physicians.
Maybe it is best said, "There is a break in protocol in handling these drugs." Just that simple. Something went wrong at the Framingham facility that should not have gone wrong. If the pharmacy is in trouble financially and they were cutting corners that is one possibility. But, this is not about bio-engineering, UNLESS, this is a new species. EVEN THEN, the species would have to be smaller than the current known species in order to have found its way past the filters and protocols.
...Authorities said all of those infected (click here) with fungal meningitis received spinal injections of a steroid solution sold by New England Compounding Center, a specialty pharmacy in Framingham, Mass. It and similar facilities combine, mix and/or alter active ingredients to make custom medications, much like early pharmacists.
These modern-day apothecaries now are supplying a greater share of the medicines Americans take, driven by the surge in outpatient procedures, development of bio-engineered drugs and a push for more individualized treatment, experts say.
"Their numbers are growing dramatically," said Dr. Salvatore Giorgianni, a Florida-based pharmaceutical consultant who has taught at Belmont University's pharmacy school in Nashville.
Estimates vary on how many compounded medications are dispensed. A 2003 Government Accountability Office report cited figures that ranged from 1 percent to 10 percent of all U.S. prescriptions....
