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WARNING LETTER

Elkhart Pharmacy MARCS-CMS 508507 —


Recipient:
Elkhart Pharmacy

United States

Issuing Office:
Dallas District Office

United States


 

  

Black HHS-Blue FDA Logo

 

 

 
Dallas District Office
4040 N. Central Expressway, Suite 300
Dallas, Texas 75204

 

May 8, 2017
 
2017-DAL-WL-14
 
WARNING LETTER
 
 
UPS OVERNIGHT
 
Charles H. Stanton, R.Ph.
Pharmacist in Charge
Elkhart Pharmacy
306 US Hwy 287
Elkhart, Texas 75839
 
Dear Mr. Stanton:
 
From December 14, 2015, to December 21, 2015, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators inspected your facility, Elkhart Pharmacy, located at 306 US Hwy 287, Elkhart, Texas 75839. During the inspection, our investigators collected evidence that indicates that drug products you produced failed to meet the conditions of section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) [21 U.S.C. § 353a] for exemption from certain provisions of the FDCA. In addition, the investigators noted serious deficiencies in your practices for producing sterile drug products, which put patients at risk.   
 
FDA issued a FDA 483, Inspectional Observations, to your firm on December 21, 2015. FDA acknowledges receipt of your facility’s response, dated January 4, 2016. Based on this inspection, it appears that you produced drug products that violate the FDCA.
 
A.    Compounded Drug Products Under the FDCA
 
Section 503A of the FDCA describes the conditions under which human drug products compounded by a licensed pharmacist in a State licensed pharmacy or a Federal facility, or a licensed physician, qualify for exemptions from three sections of the FDCA: compliance with current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) (section 501(a)(2)(B)); labeling with adequate directions for use (section 502(f)(1)); and FDA approval prior to marketing (section 505) [21 U.S.C. §§ 351(a)(2)(B), 352(f)(1) and 355(a)].   Receipt of valid prescriptions for individually-identified patients is one of the conditions for the exemptions under section 503A. 
 
In addition, for a compounded drug product to qualify for the exemptions under section 503A, bulk drug substances used to compound it must: (I) comply with the standards of an applicable United States Pharmacopeia (USP) or National Formulary (NF) monograph, if a monograph exists, and the USP chapter on pharmacy compounding; (II) if such a monograph does not exist, be components of drugs approved by the Secretary; or (III) if such a monograph does not exist and the drug substance is not a component of a drug approved by the Secretary, appear on a list developed by the Secretary through regulation (“503A bulks list”) (section 503A(b)(1)(A)(i) of the FDCA).
 
B.    Failure to Meet the Conditions of Section 503A
 
During the inspection, FDA investigators collected evidence that indicates that drug products produced by your firm failed to meet the conditions of section 503A. For example:
 
1.    Your firm did not receive valid prescriptions for individually-identified patients for a portion of the drug products you produced.
 
2.    Your firm compounded drug products using domperidone. Drug products compounded using domperidone are not eligible for the exemptions provided by section 503A(a), because domperidone is not the subject of an applicable USP or NF monograph, is not a component of an FDA-approved human drug, and does not appear on the 503A bulks list.
 
Therefore, you compounded drug products that do not meet the conditions of section 503A and are not eligible for the exemptions in that section from the FDA approval requirement of section 505 of the FDCA, the requirement under section 502(f)(1) of the FDCA that labeling bear adequate directions for use, and the requirement of compliance with CGMP under section 501(a)(2)(B) of the FDCA. In the remainder of this letter, we refer to your drug products that do not qualify for exemptions under section 503A as the “ineligible drug products.”
 
Specific violations are described below. 
 
C.    Violations of the FDCA
 
Adulterated Drug Products
 
The FDA investigators noted that drug products intended or expected to be sterile were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions, whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health, causing your drug products to be adulterated under section 501(a)(2)(A) of the FDCA. For example, the investigators observed that your firm did not use sterile wipes as part of your disinfection program for the aseptic processing area.  
 
Furthermore, the manufacture of the ineligible drug products is subject to FDA’s CGMP regulations, Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), parts 210 and 211. The FDA investigators observed significant CGMP violations at your facility, causing the ineligible drug products to be adulterated within the meaning of section 501(a)(2)(B) of the FDCA. The violations included, for example:
 
1.    Your firm failed to establish an adequate system for cleaning and disinfecting the room and equipment to produce aseptic conditions (21 CFR 211.42(c)(10)(v)).
 
2.    Your firm failed to ensure that manufacturing personnel wear clothing appropriate to protect drug product from contamination (21 CFR 211.28(a)).
 
It is a prohibited act under section 301(k) of the FDCA [21 U.S.C. § 331(k)] to do any act with respect to a drug, if such act is done while the drug is held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce and results in the drug being adulterated.
 
Misbranded Drug Products
 
The ineligible drug products you compounded are intended for conditions not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layman can use these products safely for their intended uses. Consequently, their labeling fails to bear adequate directions for their intended uses.   Accordingly, these ineligible drug products are misbranded under section 502(f)(1) of the FDCA. It is a prohibited act under section 301(k) of the FDCA to do any act with respect to a drug, if such act is done while the drug is held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce and results in the drug being misbranded.
 
D.    Corrective Actions
 
We have reviewed your firm’s response to the FDA 483. Your firm’s corrective actions appear to address the insanitary condition noted above.
  
Please be aware that section 501(a)(2)(A) of the FDCA concerning insanitary conditions applies regardless of whether drug products you compound meet the conditions of section 503A, including the condition on receipt of a prescription for an identified individual patient prior to compounding and distributing drug products and the condition on bulk drugs substances. We note that you began to use (b)(4) and (b)(4) Disinfectant Solution to clean the hood. Please be aware that for (b)(4) to provide adequate sporicidal disinfection, it needs to be applied with an adequate contact time, typically as per the manufacturer’s instructions, and that (b)(4) Disinfectant Solution is a (b)(4) disinfectant and is not labeled as sporicidal.
 
Should you continue to compound and distribute drug products that do not meet the conditions of section 503A, the compounding and distribution of such drugs would be subject to the new drug approval requirement, the requirement to label drug products with adequate directions for use, and the drug CGMP regulations. Before doing so, you must comply with the requirements of section 505 and 502(f)(1) and fully implement corrections that meet the minimum requirements of the CGMP regulations.
 
In addition to the issues discussed above, you should note that CGMP requires the implementation of qualify oversight and controls over the manufacture of drugs, including the safety of raw materials, materials used in drug manufacturing, and finished drug products. See section 501 of the FDCA. If you chose to contract with a laboratory to perform some of the functions required by CGMP, it is essential that you select a qualified contractor and that you maintain sufficient oversight of the contractor’s operations to ensure that it is fully CGMP compliant. Regardless of whether you rely on a contract facility, you are responsible for assuring that drugs you produce are neither adulterated nor misbranded. See 21 CFR 210.1(b), 21 CFR 200.10(b).
 
FDA strongly recommends that your management undertake a comprehensive assessment of operations, including facility design, procedures, personnel, processes, maintenance materials, and systems. In particular, this review should assess your aseptic processing operations. A third party consultant with relevant sterile drug manufacturing expertise should assist you in conducting this comprehensive evaluation. 
 
For more information on compounding, please see FDA’s website, at: https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/PharmacyCompounding/default.htm.
 
E.    Conclusion
 
The violations cited in this letter are not intended to be an all-inclusive statement of violations at your facility. You are responsible for investigating and determining the causes of the violations identified above and for preventing their recurrence or the occurrence of other violations. It is your responsibility to ensure that your firm complies with all requirements of federal law, including FDA regulations.
 
You should take prompt action to correct the violations cited in this letter. Failure to promptly correct these violations may result in legal action without further notice, including, without limitation, seizure and injunction.
 
Within fifteen working days of receipt of this letter, please notify this office in writing of the specific steps that you have taken to correct violations. Please include an explanation of each step being taken to prevent the recurrence of violations, as well as copies of related documentation. If you do not believe that the products discussed above are in violation of the FDCA, include your reasoning and any supporting information for our consideration. If you cannot complete corrective action within 15 working days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which you will complete the correction.   Your written notification should refer to the Warning Letter Number above (2017-DAL-WL-14). Please address your reply to John W. Diehl, Compliance Officer, at the address above.
 
If you have questions regarding the contents of this letter, please contact John Diehl at 214-253-5288.
 
 
Sincerely,
/S/ 
Shari J. Shambaugh
Acting Dallas District Director
 
 
CC:
 
Gay Dodson, RPh, Executive Director
Texas State Board of Pharmacy
William P. Hobby Building
Tower 3, Suite 600
333 Guadalupe Street
Austin, Texas 78701
 
 
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