All in “drug supply chain” encouraged to remember responsibility to protect safety of patients
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LegitScript, an NABP-recognized Internet pharmacy verification service, recently sent a letter to the CEOs of several large pharmacies and pharmaceutical suppliers affirming the importance of only supplying prescription drugs that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to patients.
“Pharmacies and pharmaceutical distributors play an important role in providing life improving products to the public. As such, it is vital to supply only the drugs that have been subjected to the rigorous FDA approval process,” states the letter from LegitScript President John Horton. “It is a fundamental responsibility of those who manufacture unapproved drugs to be aware of the potential harm that could result to patients who take them.”
In the letter, Horton reached out to “all those in the drug chain,” noting an “ethical and legal responsibility toward patients”, and encouraging pharmaceutical manufacturers to help “raise awareness of the dangers posed by unapproved drugs, and to get patients to understand that there is no need to subject themselves to unnecessary risks when an approved drug is available.”
The use of unapproved drugs can be dangerous to patients due to the fact that they lack the dosage, regimen, and drug-to-drug interaction analysis necessary to be deemed safe by the FDA for public use. The FDA’s Unapproved Drugs Initiative, announced in 2006, calls for the removal of unapproved drugs from the American marketplace.
LegitScript monitors thousands of websites that facilitate the sale of prescription drugs via the Internet. The company is the leading source for information on whether an Internet pharmacy is acting in accordance with drug and patient safety requirements. The letter to pharmacies and prescription drug suppliers states that “any pharmacy, whether online or offline, should be aware of the safety risks, and ethical implications, involved with filling prescriptions with unapproved drugs, especially when an FDA approved version is available.”
Horton’s letter was sent to the CEOs of Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreen’s, Rite Aid, Kroger, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health, as well as to the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation Research.
LegitScript is the leading source of information for patients, Internet users, physicians, businesses and other third parties who need to know if an Internet pharmacy is acting in accordance with the law and accepted standards of ethics and safety. LegitScript is identified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as the only Internet pharmacy verification service other than the NABP's VIPPS program that adheres to NABP standards.
CONTACT:
LegitScript
Telephone: 503-746-8250
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KEYWORDS: United States North America Oregon
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Public Policy/Government Healthcare Reform Pharmaceutical Public Policy FDA General Health
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