If you work for one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world, you must be aware of the manufacturing issues faced by professionals in the pharmacy and healthcare fields. These pharma manufacturing issues affect the availability and cost of prescription drugs for those who need them, making them a serious concern for patients and health care professionals alike. Learn more about the manufacturing issues affecting top pharma companies so you can understand how these issues affect patient health and safety.
Between 2009 and 2012, six top pharma companies responsible for producing sterile injectable medications received warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding manufacturing violations. Four of the top producers decreased their output or closed their factories completely. Katie Thomas of the New York Times reported that nearly one-third of the pharmacy industry's manufacturing capacity went offline due to these widespread pharma manufacturing issues. Some of the quality issues identified during inspections include the presence of mold in drug production areas, insects floating in medications, and the production of faulty drug infusion pumps. The production of faulty pumps puts patients in danger and affects the way infusion pharmacists perform their duties. Because infusion pharmacists mix chemotherapy drugs, faulty infusion pumps could affect the amount of medication delivered to patients.
Another manufacturing issue facing the top pharma companies is the need to cut costs while maintaining quality. Because executives at these companies have to answer to shareholders, they have had to dismiss experienced manufacturing employees. Some workers allege that their employers also failed to maintain manufacturing equipment properly. An April 2011 article in The Washington Post revealed that quality-control problems are not limited to the top pharma companies in the world. Officials from the Food and Drug Administration say that some compounding pharmacies have also failed to ensure the safety of drugs produced in their facilities.
These manufacturing issues have led to shortages of prescription drugs, making it difficult for patients to get the drugs they need. Physicians and other medical professionals have had to prescribe alternatives that may have been more expensive or less effective. A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cites manufacturing consolidation and other manufacturing issues as major causes of drug shortages in the United States. The report also says that the shortages result partly from the fact that the top pharma companies have increased production without really expanding their manufacturing capacities.
When the top pharma companies experience manufacturing issues, the resulting drug shortages make it difficult for physicians to prescribe the right drugs for their patients. Patients may also have to go without cost-effective drugs that control or eliminate bothersome symptoms. As an industry employee, you must understand how manufacturing issues affect top pharma companies and be able to come up with ideas to limit the effects of these issues.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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