[March 10, 2013]

A Statement from the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists

The recent reporting by CBS, on the "CBS Evening News" on March 7 and 8, 2013, and most recently this evening on "60 Minutes," concerning the circumstances surrounding the tragic meningitis outbreak, deaths, and sickness associated with the products of New England Compounding Center in Framingham, MA, is important, and the findings are deeply troubling. These news accounts are consistent with our long-held belief that NECC acted illegally and outside of its license as a pharmacy.

Both the state board and the FDA in fact possessed the authority to close NECC, and bothhad been notified of issues and potential problems with that company before this series of tragic events occurred. Massachusetts and the FDA inspected NECC repeatedly as far back as 2004 over concerns about their sterile compounding practices. Only after the tragedy began did the Massachusetts regulatory authorities deem NECC's actions as manufacturing rather than compounding pharmacy practice.

IACP has worked and will continue to work with state and federal policy makers to do what is necessary to see that nothing like this ever happens again while assuring that physicians, pharmacists and patients can still work together so that patients can have access to customized medicines that are not available from manufacturers. Compounding pharmacists perform a vital function that must be preserved.

About The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists

The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (IACP) is an association representing more than 2,700 pharmacists, technicians, students, and members of the compounding community who focus on the specialty practice of pharmacy compounding. Compounding pharmacists work directly with prescribers including physicians, nurse practitioners and veterinarians to create customized medication solutions for patients and animals whose health care needs cannot be met by manufactured medications.

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