WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced April 19 that Cantrell Drug Company (Cantrell) and co-owner and Chief Executive Officer James L. McCarley Jr., have been banned from distributing adulterated drugs in violation of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
“Compounding pharmacies have a responsibility to ensure that they process drugs in a manner that meets the legal standards necessary to ensure the safety and quality of such drugs,” Chad A. Readler, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with FDA to ensure that doctors and patients can rely on the protections in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”
According to the Justice Department, the defendants distributed adulterated drugs in interstate commerce. Cantrell allegedly prepared and packaged its products in insanitary conditions that could have contaminated them.
“The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is designed to protect the public health,” Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, said in a statement. “This enforcement action demonstrated our commitment to ensuring that when deficiencies are identified, they are properly addressed.”