Congressional Sponsors Seek Senate Floor Action on Compounding Bill; ASCRS and Coalition Partners Continue to Push for Office Use Exemption

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, (D-IA) and Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), sponsors of bi-partisan legislation aimed at improving safety of compounded drugs, announced this week that they were requesting Senate floor action on the measure by the end of July. The legislation, S. 959 the Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act, would consolidate oversight of compounded drugs in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and would prohibit providers from storing compounded products for office use without a specific patient prescription. ASCRS, working in conjunction with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), have expressed concern with the legislation indicating that it could adversely affect physician access to the drugs when needed for urgent or emergent cases, and are advocating for an office use exemption. We will continue to work with the AAO in educating senators on the negative impact the barriers to maintaining access to safely compounded products for office use would have on ophthalmology practices and their patients.