In the early 1970s, the USP conducted studies on prescription containers, but since then has not done any additional testing. Although most pharmaceutical companies have data on the water vapor permeation of the containers in which they package their products, they do not have that information for the containers in which their products are repackaged for dispensing. Drug products are being repackaged in containers in which the stability of the product has not been determined.
Most state regulations allow pharmacists an arbitrary one-year discard date.
This study was undertaken to determine if various marketed polypropylene containers for repackaging or dispensing multiple-unit drug products meet the USP standard for water vapor permeation. USP requirement for containers intended for dispensing. Containers with lug closures exhibited less permeation than other types tested. The greatest water vapor permeation was found in the container having the greatest capacity and fitted with a child-resistant snap closure.