The 1986 memorandum hid SLEP data and wasted millions of meds

A 1986 memorandum hides military-tested SLEP data showing most drugs stayed effective for years past their labels - who decided to keep it secret?

The 1986 memorandum hid SLEP data and wasted millions of meds

In this episode, we walk through how a Department of Defense study and FDA testing questioned the meaning of expiration dates and why the agencies signed a written agreement to limit who saw the results. What did the memorandum seal, and how did that choice shape what civilians and health departments were told?

Person: Joel Davis Program: Shelf Life Extension Program (SLEP) Date: 1986 memorandum; mid-1980s testing Finding: ~90% of >100 tested drugs effective up to 15 years past labeled expiration Example: Ciprofloxacin effective 9 years beyond labeled shelf life

- The DoD faced rising costs replacing pharmaceutical stockpiles that reached labeled expiration before use. - The Department of Defense commissioned the FDA to test more than 100 prescription and OTC drugs under controlled conditions. - SLEP testing found roughly ninety percent of tested drugs remained safe and effective years - sometimes over a decade - past their labeled dates. - In 1986 the DoD and FDA signed a memorandum restricting public access to SLEP scientific data and sharing with other agencies, manufacturers, and public health departments. - Joel Davis, the FDA’s chief of expiration-date compliance, publicly stated that most expired drugs are probably still effective, echoing SLEP’s findings.

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