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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Formation of Dispersible Taohong Siwu Tablets
Published on: February 3, 2023
Challenges of dispensing costly tablets with short shelf-life
Mário L de Lemos1, Brittney Mathers1, Nadine Badry1
11 Provincial Pharmacy, Systemic Therapy Program, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Abstract:
Afatinib, trametinib and regorafenib are three costly oral oncology drugs with a short shelf-life after the original container has been opened. Their short shelf-lives are due to degradation on exposure to moisture. Therefore, manufacturers recommend them to be dispensed in the original packaging with the desiccant. However, the prescribed quantities do not always match the quantities in the original packaging, usually because of dose modifications for toxicities. This leads to potentially significant drug wastage and financial losses. We describe some potential approaches to this issue.
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