Drugmaker oversight, GOP coverage: Objections

Drugmaker oversight

Opinion writer Rena Steinzor's piece "Bad feds, deadly meds: Column" gives the misleading impression that compounding pharmacies are not regulated.

There is no debate about the Food and Drug Administration's failure to act in the case of the New England Compounding Center. The company's unsanitary practices caused a meningitis outbreak in 2012. There is never any excuse for waiting 684 days to follow up on an inspection.

In response to the outbreak, the federal Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 was designed to require large-scale compounders shipping sterile medications across state lines to register with the FDA. Compounding pharmacies filling prescriptions for individuals are licensed by state boards of pharmacy using rigorous standards.

We should all be outraged by the actions of NECC, and the fact that the FDA and the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy (which also failed to follow up on a complaint about the NECC), at the time, failed to do their jobs.

To state that little progress has been made in the two-plus years since, however, is misleading and needlessly alarms the public.

David G. Miller, CEO, International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists; Alexandria, Va.

GOP candidates bashed

Paste BN's analysis "First Take: Can a 'wacko bird' take flight in the GOP?" calls Ted Cruz "combative" and "annoying," and notes he was once called a "wacko bird," after his announcement that he's running for president.

Those are tough words for a Harvard Law School grad, former Texas solicitor general and leader of a conservative movement. I still give Paste BN a 1,000% batting average on hammering potential GOP nominees early on — first Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and now Cruz. I can't wait to read about the next one.

John Papanikolas; Dallas