It's not like he had a lot of choice. At least the Congressmen got to feel like big shots and got a few minutes in front of the cameras. Which they doubtless knew was all that would come of this.

The sleepy, tawdry Globe apparently denies reporters out-of-state phone calls--even to follow a major event that started nearby. On pharmacy compounding and the fungal meningitis outbreak, the only Globe writer to slip the knots even a little has been Carolyn Johnson, whose cautious story a little over a week ago clearly indicated a national issue--hardly limited to the Boston area. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Carolyn Y. Johnson, Compounding pharmacies fill medical niche, Boston Globe, November 3, 2012, at http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/11/02/compounding-pharmacies-filled-niche-for-major-hospitals/47MsPtBMEkT67TQmfNXF8O/story.html ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Writing today, November 14, in the NY Times, Sabrina Tavernise describes testimony of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the FDA administrator, to a House subcommittee investigating pharmacy compounding. Her recommendations are similar to the changes in federal law being proposed by Rep. Markey of Malden, the ranking member of the subcommittee. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Sabrina Tavernise, FDA chief asking for more control over pharmacy compounding, New York Times, November 14, 2012, at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/health/fda-asking-for-more-control-over-drug-compounding.html ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ Testimony of Margaret A. Hamburg, November 14, 2012, available from Drugstore News at http://www.drugstorenews.com/sites/drugstorenews.com/files/HHRG-112-IF02-WState-HamburgM-20121114.pdf ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ HR 6584, 112th Congress, Verifying Authority and Legality In Drug Compounding Act of 2012, filed November 2, 2012, by Edward J. Markey [D, MA-7] with Steve Cohen [D, TN-9], Stephen F. Lynch [D, MA-9], John W. Olver [D, MA-1] and Louise McIntosh Slaughter [D, NY-28], available from the Library of Congress at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Hamburg writes that "pharmacies engaged in non-traditional compounding should register with FDA," as though that would be something new. In fact, Section 510 of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012 [Public Law 112-122] already requires that "every person who owns or operates any establishment in any State engaged in the manufacture, preparation, propagation, compounding or processing of a drug or drugs shall register" with the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes FDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ PL 112-122 available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s3187enr/pdf/BILLS-112s3187enr.pdf ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since 1997, until Rep. Markey filed HR 6584 a couple of weeks ago, not a single bill designed to regulate pharmacy compounding was even filed in either the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate. A flurry of recent activity makes a mockery of claims by Congress, state legislatures and regulatory agencies--all insisting they are looking out for public health and safety. They are mainly scurrying to deflect blame.