The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7320 p515
9 October 2004

This article
Reprint   Photocopy

PDF 100K, Acrobat Reader

· Pharmacy education
· Primary care
· Community pharmacy
· Technicians
· Acute diverticulitis
· Oxygen
· Dispensing errors
· Charitable donations
· Returned medicines
· BPC
· Blood-brain barrier
· CPD
· Overseas membership
· The register
· Retention fee
· The Society
· The Journal

Letters to the Editor

Returned medicines

Only improperly packaged medicines will be compromised

From Dr G. Crumplin

The evidence presented on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society to support the loss of quality of medicines after domiciliary storage appears to lack the objective reality sought by G. W. J. Olivier (PJ, 2 October, p466).

The 1990 evidence of the reduced potency of carbamazepine after storage in humid conditions selectively ignores the required protective capacity of modern packaging. The ICH Harmonised Tripartite Guidelines (revised in 2003) require that all marketed packs of medicines must preclude any significant change (<5 per cent) in the contained medicines after a minimum of six months’ storage at 40C (+2C) and 75 per cent (+5 per cent) relative humidity. Few, if any, domestic bathrooms could sustain such conditions.

Intact manufacturers packaging has to provide at least this level of protection against domiciliary storage conditions unless there are special storage requirements (eg, refrigeration). Hence, only medicines which are improperly packaged are likely to have their quality compromised under domestic storage conditions — in which case no manufacturer should be supplying such medicines and no responsible pharmacist should be dispensing them.

Geoff Crumplin
Independent Consultant to a Medical Charity

Reference

1. ICH Harmonised Tripartite Guideline — stability testing of new drug substances and products Q1A(R2). (2003): International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use.

Patients do not want returned medicines

From Mrs C. L. Cooke, MRPharmS

People returning medicines to the pharmacy frequently ask why the medicines are not reused. I respond that because the medicines have left the control of the supplier and the pharmacy, we cannot guarantee that the items have not been stored inappropriately or tampered with so will not reuse them. Then I ask: “Would you like to be given medicines that had previously been issued to someone else?” The answer is always “No”.

Catherine Cooke
Clevedon, Avon

Send your letter to The Editor

Previous Topic (Charitable donations)
Next Topic (BPC)