Categorization and comparisons of drug recalls for manufacturers and compounders

Abstract

BackgroundEnsuring the quality and safety of the pharmaceutical supply chain is a key policy focus vital to protecting the public from harmful or potentially harmful medications. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports the number of recalled products per fiscal year and categorizes recalls based on product type and recall classification, these reports do not distinguish between manufactured and compounded products. ObjectivesThis research aims to categorize drug recalls based on the reason for recall and then to compare this reason between manufacturers and compounders. MethodsAll publicly available drug recall data were downloaded from the FDA Data Dashboard website on January 24, 2021. Two reviewers independently categorized the recalling firm, distribution pattern, and reason for recall, and a third reviewer resolved all conflicts. Descriptive statistics were reported for recall event classification, distribution, and recall reason for the full sample. Chi-square test of independence was used to assess categorical variables by facility type (manufacturer or compounder) as well as by event classification (class I, II, or III). A subgroup analysis was performed focusing on class I level recalls only, representing the most serious recall, and similar statistical procedures were performed. ResultsFrom June 8, 2012, to January 24, 2021, there were 12,343 drug products recalled; 6771 were from a manufacturer, and 5572 were from a compounder. Most recalls from both compounders and manufacturers were class II recalls with products being distributed to multiple states. Sterility assurance was the predominant reason for recall among compounders, whereas product quality was the most frequent recall reason for manufacturers. There were statistically significant differences in class I recalls between compounders and manufacturers and recall reason compared across recall classification. ConclusionThere was a statistically significant difference in the reason for a drug to be recalled, the distribution level, and the product class for manufactured and compounded products.