[L-R] Jeffrey A. Fiarman, general counsel, Wedgewood Pharmacy; Anthony Grzib, R.Ph., director of Pharmacy Compliance, Wedgewood Pharmacy; U.S. Congressman Earl L. "Buddy" Carter; Marcy A. Bliss, president and CEO, Wedgewood Pharmacy; and Randy Burrows, director of Business Development, Wedgewood Pharmacy
(Swedesboro, New Jersey—October 31, 2017),
Wedgewood Pharmacy, the largest
veterinary compounding pharmacy in the U.S., welcomed U.S. Congressman Earl L.
"Buddy" Carter (R-GA) to its pharmacy in Swedesboro yesterday. Carter toured the
state-of-the art facilities and met with company executives to discuss the
unique and critical role compounding plays in veterinary medicine, and the
Congressional intent that it remain a state-licensed practice.
Carter is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has
jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He leads a bipartisan
effort in Congress urging FDA to conform to the statutory authority it was
granted by Congress, and to leave the regulation of traditional pharmacies to
the states, which have had authority over them for many years. Carter said, “The
FDA’s misinterpretation of certain provisions of the law and related enforcement
actions against pharmacies are jeopardizing patients’ access to critical
compounded medications. While I’ve been working primarily for patients who are
people, I recognize how important pets are in our lives. This meeting provided
insight into animal health care markets and threats to patient access there.”
Wedgewood Pharmacy makes customized medications for people and their pets
when FDA–manufactured drugs cannot meet their needs. Compounded medications are
prescriptions and medication orders that are written by physicians,
veterinarians, and other legally authorized prescribers, and prepared by
specially trained pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Marcy A. Bliss, president and CEO, added, “Buddy Carter has been an essential
advocate for the rights of physicians and veterinarians to make medical
decisions for people and their pets. We are very grateful for his backing in
Congress. He clearly understands that veterinary medicine and human medicine are
entirely different professions, with very different requirements for compounded
medications and regulation.”
About Wedgewood Pharmacy
Wedgewood Pharmacy employs 360 people and is headquartered in Swedesboro,
Gloucester County, N.J., where it maintains a 54,000 square-foot facility.
George (late) and Lucy Malmberg, both pharmacists, purchased Wedgewood
Pharmacy in 1981; the pharmacy was founded in 1980. In its 35-year history, the
company has grown from a local community pharmacy to become one of the largest
compounding pharmacies in the United States, serving tens of thousands of
prescribers throughout the U.S. with customized
animal-health and
human-health prescriptions every year.
Wedgewood Pharmacy is accredited by Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board
(PCAB®) for compliance with PCAB pharmacy compounding accreditation standards.
PCAB is a service of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care and is a
third-party accreditation organization that has developed the highest national
standards that providers are measured against to illustrate their ability to
effectively and efficiently deliver quality compounded medications to consumers.
PCAB was established in 2007 by eight of the nation’s leading pharmacy
organizations to create a voluntary quality-accreditation designation for the
compounding industry. Wedgewood Pharmacy was the first pharmacy in the
Philadelphia area to earn this accreditation and was re-accredited in January
2015.
In June 2016, Chicago-based New Harbor Capital became the majority owner of
the company.