Sep 11, 2020 11:16 PM
https://theconversation.com/whats-in-you...nts-143803
EXCERPTS: There are many more ingredients in every pill you take than what is listed on the bottle label. [...] Manufacturers are now required to report disruptions in the manufacturing of an active pharmaceutical ingredient – the part of the medicine that produces the intended therapeutic benefit. But [...this...] doesn’t include excipients - the “inactive” ingredients that make up the bulk of a final medicine. It also doesn’t include the materials needed to package and distribute medical products, such as vials and other containers, packaging, and labels.
[...] As a trained pharmacist and researcher interested in uncovering risks to medicine quality, I believe patients and clinicians would benefit from having more information about all the ingredients in medicine. ... As the so-called “inactive” ingredients in medicines, excipients are often mistaken as being free from potential harm. But the evidence suggests otherwise. Between 2015 to 2019, health-care professionals, patients, and manufacturers filed nearly 2,500 reports to the FDA about an adverse reaction to an excipient.
While excipients are listed on packaging or package insert for over-the-counter and prescription drugs, this information can be difficult to find. Furthermore, patients often switch from brand name to generic versions, or the pharmacist substitutes one manufacturer for another. While the active pharmaceutical ingredient remains the same, excipients may be different, and even seemingly slight differences can significantly impact patient safety. For example, a patient may be allergic to an excipient in the newly refilled medicine with a different manufacturer.
Excipients are critical materials and serve a broad variety of functions. [...] Research from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that 92.8% of oral medicines contain at least one potential allergen, a concern for individuals with known sensitivities and intolerances. ... Despite some evidence that excipients are responsible for drug reactions, the amount of each excipient added to each drug is not reported for nearly half of biological medicines... (MORE - details)
EXCERPTS: There are many more ingredients in every pill you take than what is listed on the bottle label. [...] Manufacturers are now required to report disruptions in the manufacturing of an active pharmaceutical ingredient – the part of the medicine that produces the intended therapeutic benefit. But [...this...] doesn’t include excipients - the “inactive” ingredients that make up the bulk of a final medicine. It also doesn’t include the materials needed to package and distribute medical products, such as vials and other containers, packaging, and labels.
[...] As a trained pharmacist and researcher interested in uncovering risks to medicine quality, I believe patients and clinicians would benefit from having more information about all the ingredients in medicine. ... As the so-called “inactive” ingredients in medicines, excipients are often mistaken as being free from potential harm. But the evidence suggests otherwise. Between 2015 to 2019, health-care professionals, patients, and manufacturers filed nearly 2,500 reports to the FDA about an adverse reaction to an excipient.
While excipients are listed on packaging or package insert for over-the-counter and prescription drugs, this information can be difficult to find. Furthermore, patients often switch from brand name to generic versions, or the pharmacist substitutes one manufacturer for another. While the active pharmaceutical ingredient remains the same, excipients may be different, and even seemingly slight differences can significantly impact patient safety. For example, a patient may be allergic to an excipient in the newly refilled medicine with a different manufacturer.
Excipients are critical materials and serve a broad variety of functions. [...] Research from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has found that 92.8% of oral medicines contain at least one potential allergen, a concern for individuals with known sensitivities and intolerances. ... Despite some evidence that excipients are responsible for drug reactions, the amount of each excipient added to each drug is not reported for nearly half of biological medicines... (MORE - details)