Gary Puckrein, President and CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum (The Forum), recently sent a letter to the CEOs of eight major pharmaceutical suppliers, distributors and pharmacies to educate them on the potential threats posed by unapproved drugs in the United States and to ask that they do their part to protect consumers from the harms that can be caused by these unproven products.
“We are confident that you share our concern and commitment to protecting the public and we hope that you will stop distribution of all unapproved drugs whenever FDA approved versions of the same drugs are available”
"We are confident that you share our concern and commitment to protecting the public and we hope that you will stop distribution of all unapproved drugs whenever FDA approved versions of the same drugs are available," Dr. Puckrein wrote in his letter. "By doing this, you can help us send a signal to manufacturers of unapproved drugs that they must get onboard and seek FDA approval or face an unrelenting campaign to remove their products from the public domain."
The letter also applauded the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its recent efforts to enhance its enforcement of the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which calls for the removal of unapproved drugs from the marketplace.
Unapproved drugs have not been though the rigorous FDA approval process that best ensures consumer safety. These products—often taken unknowingly—can be harmful or even deadly to patients, mostly due to adverse drug to drug interactions or adverse reactions to the drug itself. In many cases, harmful incidents caused by unapproved drug use could have been avoided had the product's been properly tested and labeled by the FDA.
The National Minority Quality Forum, a research and educational organization which works to ensure that high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities receive optimal health care, is currently conducting a public information campaign called the "Did You Know Project," which aims to educate consumers physicians and policymakers about the risks associated with the use of unapproved drugs.
Dr. Puckrein's letter was sent to the CEOs of Walmart, Rite Aid, Walgreens, CVS and Kroger, which, combined, operate over 24,000 pharmacies in the United States. The letter was also sent to the CEOs of pharmaceutical distributors: Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen and Mckesson. These companies distribute medications and other products to over 100,000 pharmacies and physicians across the United States.
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