To Limit ‘Gray’ Drug Market, Nevada Adopts Restrictions on Drug Sales Between Wholesalers
The Nevada Board of Pharmacy voted last week to restrict pharmaceutical wholesalers from selling more than 10% of their inventory to other wholesalers, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The move is an effort to limit a prescription drug "gray market" in which "closed-door pharmacies" -- allowed by law only to fill prescriptions for nursing homes or other care facilities, not for the public -- redirect their inventory to the retail market through a series of distributors and "secondary wholesalers." Nevada is reportedly the first state to enact a directive aimed at stopping this practice, which state officials say has contributed to higher prescription prices and last year's flu vaccine shortage. The new regulations also require wholesalers to keep copies of their business records on site and to have a "certain amount" of stock available at any time for inspection. At a recent Board of Pharmacy meeting, several wholesalers expressed their reservations, saying the regulations would "unfairly penalize them."
A National Trend
According to the Sun, as many as 80% of the nation's closed-door pharmacies may be involved in the gray market. While the Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987 prohibits hospitals, pharmacies and private physicians from selling to wholesalers, closed-door pharmacies were exempted from the law. The Sun reports that Congress held hearings last summer on possible changes to the act, but stricter requirements due to take effect Oct. 1 have been delayed by the FDA. According to Gary Sasich of Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, changes at the federal level may be "years" away. "Nevada is taking a big step forward" for the whole nation, Carmen Catizone, executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, said (Richmond, Las Vegas Sun, 10/23). For further information on state health policy in Nevada, visit State Health Facts Online.
