States adopt NPLEx to prevent PSE use for meth

Pennsylvania last month became the 29th state to employ the National Precursor Log Exchange in the fight against the diversion of products containing pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine. State No. 30, Delaware, is expected to sign real-time stop sale technology into law this summer.

"NPLEx gives retailers the power to block these illegal purchases at the register before they happen, giving communities and Pennsylvania law enforcement a new and critical tool in stopping the illegal sale of these medicines to criminals," noted Scott Melville, CHPA president and CEO.

While NPLEx interferes with the distribution of PSE products, two companies are launching meth-resistant products.

Acura Pharmaceuticals last month introduced a second-generation prototype formulation of its meth-resistant IMPEDE technology, which helps prevent the diversion of PSE into meth production. Acura intends to immediately commence development of an upgraded Nexafed tablet using IMPEDE 2.0.

Westport Pharmaceuticals also has a meth-resistant PSE product called Zephrex-D. The specially formulated pseudoephedrine product helps make it impractical to illicitly manufacture methamphetamine. In recent independent laboratory tests of Zephrex-D, traditional extraction/conversion manufacturing methods converted less than 0.5% of the pseudoephedrine into meth.