FDA Reminds Healthcare Providers Not to Use Sterile Products from NuVision Pharmacy

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding healthcare providers about safety concerns with all sterile drug products made and distributed by NuVision Pharmacy of Dallas, Texas. Healthcare providers should not administer any NuVision Pharmacy sterile products to patients because the products sterility is not assured.
 
This alert follows the FDAs notice on May 18, 2013 recommending that healthcare providers and other healthcare professionals, including hospital staff, immediately check their medical supplies for NuVision Pharmacy sterile products, quarantine those products, and not administer them to patients.
 
NuVision Pharmacy has repeatedly declined to recall its sterile products. The FDA most recently issued a letter to NuVision on July 26, 2013, requesting an immediate recall of all lots of sterile products that have not passed their expiration dates produced at NuVision. In the letter, the FDA outlined poor sterile production practices observed by FDA investigators during an April 2013 inspection of NuVisions Dallas facility. The FDA explained that those practices raised concerns about a lack of sterility assurance of NuVisions sterile drug products. The FDA noted that if a drug product marketed as sterile contains microbial contamination, patients could be at risk for serious, potentially life-threatening infections.
 
NuVision responded to the letter by refusing to recall its sterile products. Under its authority, the FDA cannot require NuVision to undertake such a recall. Therefore the agency reminds health care providers not to use any sterile products from NuVision.
 
In April 2013 NuVision recalled methylcobalamin injection and lyophilized injection products due to a lack of sterility assurance and concerns associated with the quality control processes identified during the FDAs April 2013 inspection. The FDA received adverse event reports of fever, flu-like symptoms, and soreness at the injection site associated with the methylcobalamin injection product that was previously recalled. The agency is not aware of any adverse event reports associated with other sterile products from NuVision.

Source: FDA