A sad day for compounding pharmacies

It’s a victory for drug companies and a blow to compounding pharmacies: A federal judge has ruled that the FDA was correct to block a compounder from using an ingredient that is necessary to make the branded drug, Vasostrict.

The FDA had determined that a compounded version of vasopressin (which is used to increase blood pressure in patients with vasodilatory shock) wasn’t clinically necessary — and said that only the drug maker, Endo International, would be allowed to make and sell Vasostrict. The judgment came after Endo sued the FDA for allowing bulk compounding of hundreds of drugs, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes.