We sounded the alarm in December (and even had an emergency meeting about it): Encouraged by drug makers, state legislators are beginning to introduce bills to restrict and potentially eliminate lawful pharmacy compounding — starting with compounded “weight-loss drugs” but designed to reach far beyond them.
In Florida, two related bills were introduced in the latest legislative session. Both of them — HB 877 and SB 860 — would add unnecessary and, frankly, inappropriate requirements for anyone wishing to compound a “weight-loss drug” – a term not defined in the bill, so could include a range of medications, not just GLP-1s. Unnecessary because they would overlap existing requirements on the federal level. This is justified by claiming the FDA isn’t doing its job. Really. They’re inappropriate because both bills put the onus of proving the quality of APIs on compounding pharmacists rather than wholesalers.
We’ve also heard that bills are being shopped around to legislators in Colorado, Indiana, and Washington state.
All this is why APC has launched the Compounding Defense Initiative this year to fight these drugmaker-backed bills. One of the first things we’re doing is interviewing candidates for a lobbyist position in Florida to fight those two bills. But we’ll also be thinking wider and hiring a we ‘communications counsel’ firm to help craft our nationwide messaging.
These bills and others like them are being sold as “anti-counterfeit” measures related to GLP-1 API. In reality, they are broad, sweeping attacks on compounding, including legitimate, state-licensed compounding pharmacies. Success against this latest drugmaker attack will depend on early coordination, disciplined messaging, and real resources.
Don’t worry, though. We’ll keep you up to date on what develops, how we’re fighting back, and how you can help.