Post-Board Meeting Update
September 14, 2024
Hi everyone!
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Thank you so much to those who participated in the September 12 board meeting. Your comments were truly inspiring and filled us with hope. The public was unanimous in opposing the proposed regulations that threaten access to Category 1 sterile compounds like glutathione, NAD+, and B12 as methylcobalamin. Commenters included patients, advocates, firefighters, doctors and representatives from major medical organizations. It was amazing to hear so many different advocates unite over this cause.
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As many of you know, Stop The BOP’s goal is to have these harmful regulations sent back to committee where they would have to be discarded. Another goal is for the Board of Pharmacy to align with scientifically-backed US Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapter 797, as seen in the rest of the country. This would ensure sterile compounding pharmacies can produce Category 1 compounds like glutathione and methylcobalamin. This would also enable compounding pharmacies to return to normal operations. Only then could we slowly begin to rebuild trust in this regulatory board.
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However, we still have a ways to go. Although two motions to move the regulations forward failed, which was a win, the motion to send them back to committee was blocked by President Oh—a questionable action. But that’s not all. Let’s backtrack.
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The day before the board meeting, the BOP changed the agenda, moving public comments to the very beginning of the meeting. While we would generally prefer public comments to take place first, this last-minute change seemed intended to silence many who planned to log in at noon. Sadly, several people notified us that they missed their opportunity to speak due to this sudden change.
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During the meeting, numerous Californians spoke passionately against the regulations, requesting they be sent back to committee and for the Board to adopt USP standards. Several board members, including Nicole Thibeau, Satinder Sandhu, Jeff Hughes, and Trevor Chandler, appeared to support public sentiment, expressing concerns that the regulations were unnecessarily stringent.
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Conversely, members such as Maria Serpa, Renee Barker, and President Oh seemed determined to push the regulations forward despite broad public disapproval. Serpa, the architect of these regulations, repeatedly misled and even outright lied to the public and other board members. (For example: Serpa stated that these excessive regulations are the only way to ensure no one would suffer endotoxin poisoning. This is simply false as Pharmacopeia standards already ensure and guarantee endotoxin testing.)
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We appreciated member Kartikeya Jha’s call for more research, which aligns with our belief that the current regulations are not research-based.
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After the two failed motions, President Oh declared a lunch break. Upon returning, he abruptly moved on to the next agenda item without explanation—a highly unusual and questionable move. We believe, had the motion to send the regulations back to committee been allowed, it may well have passed.
Based on this board meeting, past board meetings, and past actions of the board, it appears to us that certain members and staff—including President Oh, Serpa, Barker, as well as Executive Officer Anne Sodergren and Inspector Christine Acosta—are pressuring other board members to disregard public input. Why?
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That remains an unsolved mystery.
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So what happens next? The situation is at a standstill for now, with no final decisions made and no further progress on the regulations until the next meeting in November. While we succeeded in preventing the regulations from advancing, the fight is still ongoing. The Board will resume this discussion at the next meeting on November 6-7 in San Diego, and we plan to be there. Will you join us?!
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Until then, let’s keep the momentum going! Please keep sharing the petition as this is one of the best ways to show decisionmakers that our numbers are growing. Follow us on instagram @stop.thebop for more immediate updates, and visit page Act Now to learn more about how you can get involved.
And of course, don't hesitate to reach out to us directly via email or instagram! We are here to help.
Together, we can #StopTheBOP!
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Crystal A. Frost, PhD
SoCal Leader, Stop The BOP