AMID a surge in demand for hand sanitiser, which has left shelves bare, a US pharmacy has launched its own product compounded in-store.
JB Pharmacy and Compounding co-owner, Paul Capuano, said severe shortages of commercial brands had prompted the store's pharmacists to take matters into their own hands and formulate an in-house solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While pharmacists making a hand sanitiser may not be revolutionary, in the state of Rhode Island, commercially made brands can be sold over-the-counter, however, compounded products require a prescription, meaning the pharmacy had to apply for a waiver to sell its 60% alcohol solution.
Capuano said the store produced an initial batch of 500 bottles of the hand sanitiser last week, with 75% of the run sold within hours of going on sale.
He added the pharmacy was rationing supply to a maximum of four bottles per customer, noting "we may have to jump to an alternative formula soon, because we've found shortages of aloe and shortages of alcohol".
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