"Hospitals and pharmacies are required to toss expired drugs, no matter how expensive or vital. Meanwhile the FDA has long known that many remain safe and potent for years longer.
The box of prescription drugs had been forgotten in a back closet of a retail pharmacy for so long that some of the pills predated the 1969 moon landing.
Most were 30 to 40 years past their expiration dates -- possibly toxic, probably worthless.But to Lee Cantrell, who helps run the California Poison Control System, the cache was an opportunity to answer an enduring question about the actual shelf life of drugs:
Could these drugs from the bell-bottom era still be potent?
Gerona and Cantrell, a pharmacist and toxicologist, knew that the term "expiration date" was a misnomer.
The dates on drug labels are simply the point up to which the Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies guarantee their effectiveness, typically at two or three years.
But the dates don't necessarily mean they're ineffective immediately after they "expire" -- just that there's no incentive for drugmakers to study whether they could still be usable.
Tests on the decades-old drugs including antihistamines, pain relievers and stimulants.
All the drugs tested were in their original sealed containers.
The findings surprised both researchers:
A dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100 percent of their labeled concentrations..."
