[Pharmwaste] Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals donating one million drug deactivation pouches to support the fight against prescription drug abuse

Vivian Futran Fuhrman vivian at productstewardship.us
Thu Jun 30 15:39:12 EDT 2016


Hi All,

As a follow up to Scott's email below, here is some additional information that might serve this discussion:


*         The pouch that Mallinckrodt donated is called Deterra<http://deterrasystem.com/>, which is a rebranding of Verde technologies<http://deterrasystem.com/2015/02/verde-technologies-introduces-deterra-drug-deactivation-system/>' Medsaway technology.

*         If you follow the claims on the Deterra website about their "scientific research," it takes you to several studies by their in-house scientist that are not peer reviewed<http://deterrasystem.com/research/>.

*         On Deterra's FAQ page<http://deterrasystem.com/faq/>, it mentions that the ONDCP supports this kind of technology, a half-truth based on relatively vague statements in ONDCP's 2015 drug control strategy<https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-and-research/2015_national_drug_control_strategy.pdf>).

*         The FAQ page also states that "Verde has been awarded a contract from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), a part of the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH), for the development of at-home drug deactivation products."

So it appears there may finally be one government agency taking the lead on evaluating these pouches and other black-box deactivation technologies: NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The following can be found on page 94 of this NIH RFP for small businesses<file:///\\psiserver\Public%20Folder\Pharmaceuticals\7%20Resources\Destruction%20technology%20info\2013_US%20DHHS_Solicitation%20of%20NIH%20and%20CDC%20for%20Small%20Business%20Innovation%20Research%20Contract%20Proposals=%20DEACTIVATION%20TECHNOLOGIES.pdf>:

148 Products for at-home Deactivation of Psychoactive Prescription Medicines
(Fast-Track proposals will be accepted.)
Number of Anticipated Awards: 2-3
Budget (total costs): Phase I: $150,000 for 6 months; Phase II: $1,000,000 for 2 years
Objective: This topic addresses the need to fund research and development activities to promote the commercial development and testing of an inexpensive prescription medicine disposal system that would provide a simple means for patients (prescription drug "end-users" defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration) or members of their household to safely render prescription drugs unusable and effectively contained in order to minimize the potential for diversion or accidental exposure to children or pets. Methods proposed may include approaches or agents that mechanically destroy or chemically neutralize prescription drugs for either safe home disposal or safe transit for disposal by another facility. For example, such a product or agent could be distributed by practitioners and pharmacies along with scheduled medications. As an ancillary benefit, such a product holds the potential to minimize drugs entering the watershed and other adverse environmental effects.

Perhaps NIDA will ultimately be in charge of vetting in-home deactivation technology for residential pharmaceutical waste. Something to keep an eye on.

Best,
Vivian
______________________________
Vivian Fuhrman
Associate for Policy and Programs
Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.
29 Stanhope St., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116
P: (617) 236-4771 F: (617) 236-4766
www.productstewardship.us<http://www.productstewardship.us/>
vivian at productstewardship.us<mailto:vivian at productstewardship.us>
The Product Stewardship Institute, Inc. is an equal opportunity provider and employer.


From: Pharmwaste [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Scott Cassel
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 8:12 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals donating one million drug deactivation pouches to support the fight against prescription drug abuse

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mallinckrodt-donates-one-million-drug-deactivation-pouches-to-support-us-fight-against-prescription-drug-abuse-300286092.html

Thanks to Anne LeMere of Unity Hospice for sharing Mallinckrodt's press release, which states that: "The pouch-based systems that Mallinckrodt is donating deactivate prescription drugs and render chemical compounds safe for landfills. The pouches are also biodegradable, providing an environmentally responsible way to deactivate and dispose of drugs."

Can any government officials on this list verify that their agencies approve of these pouches being landfilled?

Before millions of these pouches end up in landfills, I would like to know whether government officials WANT them in their landfills and consider this a safe disposal method. Has anyone seen the company's data showing the criteria they use for landfill safety and biodegradability?

Thanks,
Scott

________________________________
Scott Cassel
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
Product Stewardship Institute, Inc.
29 Stanhope Street, Boston, MA 02116
617-236-4822 (ph); 617-236-4766 (fax)
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