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Topical Gel Now Easier to Compound With Just One Clindamycin Vial

The nationwide pharmacist shortage, which USA Today reports peaked in 2001 with 7,700 chain pharmacy jobs open, poses the risk that overworked pharmacists will make mistakes when preparing prescriptions. Anything that pharmaceutical manufacturers and packagers can do to make pharmacists’ jobs easier can help reduce that risk.

"The nation's 37,000 chain stores had about 6,000 open pharmacist jobs in January [2005], according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. An increase in prescriptions and aging baby boomers also exacerbate the situation," reported USA Today in August, according to Medical News Today.

Pharmaceutical packagers can help prevent errors from occurring in pharmacies by reducing the number of steps that a pharmacist has to follow, thereby streamlining the prescription preparation process.

For instance, a newly redesigned package makes preparing a topical acne treatment easier. Pharmacists now only have to mix one vial of clindamycin 1% powder with water to produce the BenzaClin compound. The old package consisted of two vials of the powder.

BenzaClin is manufactured by Dermik Laboratories (Berwyn, PA). The company's goal was to make the process of mixing the product easier and more convenient for pharmacists by reducing the number of steps required to create the clindamycin solution.

The contents of the BenzaClin package are the same as before the redesign. Each box contains a jar of benzoyl peroxide 5% gel, a mixing spatula, and the single vial of 1% clindamycin. A prescribing information sheet is also included. The topical gel is available in two jar sizes: 50 g (with 0.6 g of clindamycin) and 25 g (with 0.3 g of clindamycin).

Product reconstitution occurs when 10 ml of purified water is added to the 0.6-g vial of clindamycin powder and shaken to create a clindamycin solution. The vial is marked to show the level at which to pour the water. The solution is then poured into the accompanying jar of benzoyl peroxide gel and mixed with the spatula.

The acne treatment gel remains stable at room temperature for 13 weeks after a pharmacist has compounded the product into the solution to make ready for patient use. It does not need to be refrigerated.

BenzaClin's clindamycin/benzoyl peroxide combination is FDA approved against both inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions.

By simply redesigning its package to contain one vial to mix instead of two, the manufacturer was able to assist pharmacists and end-users in making its product easier to prepare. Redesigns take work, and they may involve regulatory review. But if they reduce the risk of preparation errors, they are worth it.

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