Officials Seeking Authority to Inspect Out-of-State Compounders

By Michael Whiteley, Southern Bureau ChiefFlorida health officials are asking state lawmakers to give them the authority to inspect out-of-state pharmacies that ship compound sterile products into Florida in the wake of the outbreak of fungal meningitis blamed for 64 deaths and 751 illnesses across 20 states last year.The Florida Senate Health Policies Committee has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 8 to hear testimony on Senate Proposed Bill 7008. The bill, introduced by the committee, would give the Florida Board of Pharmacy the authority to issue compounded sterile products permits to nonresident...