ASHP to FDA: Keep Antivirals Out of Homes

10/29/2008

ASHP expressed strong opposition to the practice of home stockpiling of antivirals for pandemic influenza before a pair of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committees Wednesday, and encouraged the distribution of these medications by public health entities when needed.

ASHP Practice Development Director Cynthia Reilly, B.S., Pharm., warned that home stockpiling could create antiviral resistance because of improper use. It could also exhaust the antiviral supply in an emergency, leaving in jeopardy groups such as hospital-admitted patients and highest-risk outpatients deemed priorities for the medications, she said.

The FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory and Nonprescription Drugs Advisory committees sought perspectives from ASHP and other healthcare organizations on home stockpiling of antivirals. The FDA would need to approve the package labeling and instructions for home-stockpiled antivirals.

Reilly pointed out that the national antiviral supply has increased, but it isn’t enough to cover doses for the projected six-month treatment needed to develop strain-specific vaccines in a pandemic influenza.

She also cautioned that fear, misinformation, and miscommunication could lead members of the public to use the antivirals when treatment is a priority for controlling a pandemic. Members of the public also could improperly store the medications, rendering them ineffective, she said.