Pharmacies Warned for Faults Tied to Meningitis Outbreak

At least 16 specialty pharmacies that mix their own medicines were warned by U.S. regulators for major violations since 2003, some similar to those found at the compounding pharmacy linked to this year’s deadly meningitis outbreak, a government watchdog group found.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cited the pharmacies operating in 15 states for making drugs on a large scale instead of responding to individual prescriptions, copying commercially available drugs and making drugs out of ingredients that aren’t agency approved, according to Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer group. Compounding pharmacies are supposed to produce prescriptions in response to specific doctor’s orders to fulfill requests for tailored drugs such as those without preservatives or in different doses.