How Pharmaceutical Companies Can Prevent Drug Recalls

Accidents happen. Even with a range of measures in place, we’ll likely always see drug recalls that cost companies a lot of money. However, that’s not to say that pharmaceutical companies aren’t in a good position to reduce how many drug recalls they have.

You can learn more about the best ways to prevent drug recalls below:

Use Excellent Inspection Technology

A 30-month analysis by the FDA found that contamination is one of the top five reasons for drug recalls. If pharmaceutical companies invest in inspection equipment, they may be able to pick up on quality issues and contamination before products enter the market.

A range of inspection equipment, such as what’s offered by leading providers like TDI Packsys, can be relied on to detect contaminants like plastic, metal, and glass. By ensuring that there are no contaminants at the source, pharmaceutical companies may save money by reducing the number of recalls.

Refine Labeling Processes

Drug mislabeling can happen often, resulting in recalls. Drugs can be recalled for technical, gross, artwork, content, and context errors. Any inconsistencies with barcodes, design, labels, and text can all cost pharmaceutical companies significant sums of money when those products must be recalled.

Implementing a detailed labeling process can be crucial for avoiding such problems. Invest in innovative manufacturing automation and ensure you provide adequate training for your team overseeing the whole process.

Prioritize Excellent Communication

Mistakes can sometimes happen when employees in charge of specific pharmaceutical processes experience communication breakdowns. Those mistakes can be costly for their employers.

Prioritize excellent communication, and you may reduce the risk of related drug recalls. Most leading pharmaceutical companies invest in communication tools and software, so their teams can assign tasks, hold meetings, and share documents.

Having transparent processes for manufacturers, supply chains, management, and retailers may also mean any possible recalls are more straightforward and easy to manage.

Ensure Ongoing Training

Your business is only as responsible and reliable as its employees. Prioritize ongoing learning and development opportunities to potentially reduce the risk of recalls. Your training should focus on:

• Manufacturing
• Regulatory compliance
• Quality control
• Employee responsibilities for maintaining good product quality

Implement Quality Control Measures

You can assume that your pharmaceutical products have been produced to a high standard. Still, that doesn’t mean they have been. Feel more confident by implementing quality control measures. These measures can help your business meet regulatory standards and specifications. The more measures you have in place for raw materials, testing, and final products, the easier it might be to produce consistently high-quality products for your consumers.

Align with Reliable Suppliers and Vendors

Most pharmaceutical companies work with suppliers and vendors to help them produce high-quality products. Sometimes, it’s these raw materials from suppliers and vendors that can end up being responsible for drug recalls. Accidents happen, but you may reduce the recall risk by working with respected suppliers and vendors. Fortunately, there are many such vendors to choose from.

Pharmaceutical companies can’t always prevent all drug recalls. However, there’s a chance you could see less in your company’s future by taking some of the actions above.

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