The information published in this column was provided by the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition (PCSC).
HDA PCSC is warning the pharmacy industry of a recall fraud incident involving the drug product oxycodone hydrochloride. PCSC notes that the emails/faxes that are claimed to originate from a legitimate pharmaceutical distributor state the following:
“(Distributor) is updating all direct account Wholesalers, Distributors and pharmacies that have received the impacted NDC below. We are initiating a recall of lots distributed to date on a precautionary basis. This recall is being conducted at the Retail Level. Please note all lots are being recalled. Thank you.”
The correspondence indicates that oxycodone hydrochloride with the National Drug Code (NDC) 0406853001 is being “recalled to manufactural.” This NDC is assigned to a single package of 100 tablets that is manufactured by SpecGx LLC, which has not released any manufacturer recalls at this time.
Even though to date none of these illicit attempts have been successful, PCSC respectfully asks that pharmacy professionals educate their employees and members of this new tactic.
Industry associations that receive any type of communication that references a recall should document as much about the interaction as possible. PCSC advises industry members to follow up with their trusted distributor partner contacts to confirm if the request is legitimate. If the recall is found to be illegitimate, report the situation to PCSC at cforsaith@hda.org or by calling Chuck Forsaith at 401/623-1344.
Law enforcement is investigating these incidents, and ask that all attempts, successful or not, be documented.