By Virginia Buchanan

October 30th, 2012  12:00pm

The Florida Department of Health has suspended the license of Boca Raton compounding pharmacy Rejuvi Pharmaceuticals.  When completing a routine inspection,  health officials found substantial violations of Florida’s rules regulating compounding pharmacies.  This follows on the heels of 354 reported cases of fungal meningitis, 10 resulting in death, which originated from contamination of injectables from a Massachusetts compounding company.  

The Florida violations involved violations of laws and rules which address the cleanliness of the prescription department, dispensing of medication, compounding of medications and record keeping.  This is not the first time Rejuvi Pharmaceuticals has been warned by state officials about its lack of compliance with state rules.  The Department of Health indicated today that it had warned the company in the past that it needed to address various safety concerns, and the company had simply failed to heed those warnings and take the necessary corrective action.  

Although the license suspension is not final until a hearing, this move by Florida health officials signifies a heightened sense of concern about the safety of compounding pharmacies.

Virginia Buchanan is a shareholder at Levin, Papantonio.  She has served on the Board of Directions of the Florida Bar Foundation and has been Treasurer of ABOTA, Chairperson of the Civil Process Server Grievance Committeee and has been a member of the Chief Judge’s Council on Children. She currently is a member of the Women’s Caucus of the Florida Justice Association.

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