Expert Medical Authors and Reviewers Team

Alan Carter, PharmD

Clinical Pharmacist - Researcher - Academic - Founder of CommercialExploitation.org
Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Dr. Alan Carter, Pharm.D. is a clinical pharmacist, researcher, and academic based in Kansas City, MO. He is a recognized expert in diabetes management, pharmacovigilance, and the drug cold supply chain. As the lead medical reviewer for our Online Pharmacy Review & Comparison Service, Dr. Carter ensures all evaluated platforms meet rigorous clinical safety and FDA accreditation standards.

Professional Overview

Full Name:
Alan W. Carter, PharmD
Location:
Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Email:
acarter29@cs.com (former) | acarter@mriglobal.org (former)
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/alancarterpharmd
Education:
Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), University of Missouri-Kansas City
Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc), Pharmacy, UMKC

Professional Experience

Adjunct Faculty Pharmacy Practice
Jan 1995 – Present
UMKC School of Pharmacy • Kansas City, MO
Online Pharmacy Reviewer
Feb 2023 – Present
CommercialExploitation.org • Remote
Medical Reviewer
Jan 2015 – Feb 2023
Healthline Media • Remote
Medical Reviewer
Aug 2021 – May 2022
Symbiotix, LLC
Pharmacy Director
Oct 2018 – Mar 2021
Aetna (State Health Plan MCO) • Overland Park, KS
Principal Investigator, Project Manager & Senior Advisor
May 2012 – Feb 2018
MRIGlobal • Kansas City, MO
Pharmacy Director/Clinical Pharmacist
Jan 2000 – Jan 2015
Cosentino's Food Stores • Kansas City, MO
Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor
Jan 1999 – Jan 2002
University of Kansas School of Pharmacy • Shawnee, KS

Certifications & Licenses

  • Licensed Pharmacist – Kansas Board of Pharmacy & Missouri Board of Pharmacy
  • Certified Immunizing Pharmacist – American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
  • Certified Smoking Cessation Specialist
  • HIPAA Privacy Officer Certification

Awards & Honors

2019
Pharmacy Career Achievement Award
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy Alumni Association
Awarded for accomplishments achieving national recognition, specifically for groundbreaking insulin concentration research.
2024
Honored Listee
Marquis Who's Who (2024-2029)

NIH Research Involvement

  • Principal Investigator (2015-2018) – NIH NINDS BRAIN Initiative for Neurological Drug Development
  • Principal Investigator – NIH-NCATS Drug Substance Development and Manufacture contracts
  • • Led chemistry teams in developing novel green chemistry routes for drug manufacturing scale-up
  • • Managed formulation development and Investigational New Drug (IND) dose design for Phase 1 clinical trials
  • • Led large and small molecular entity assay and evaluation teams

Landmark Research Findings

Insulin Cold Supply Chain Study (2017)

Carter's most significant research involved randomly purchasing insulin vials from pharmacies and discovering that:

  • None of the 18 vials tested met FDA minimum standards (95 U/ml)
  • • Insulin concentrations ranged from 13.9 to 94.2 U/ml (mean 40.2 U/ml)
  • • Suggested the cold supply chain negatively impacts insulin concentrations more than previously anticipated
  • • Generated significant discussion and follow-up studies in the diabetes community

Selected Publications (20+ Total)

Insulin Concentration in Vials Randomly Purchased in Pharmacies in the United States: Considerable Loss in the Cold Supply Chain
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2017 | PMID: 29268624

Landmark study finding insulin concentrations ranging from 13.9-94.2 U/ml, with no vial meeting the 95 U/ml minimum standard.

Quality Control of Insulins and Biosimilar Insulins: What Do We Know?
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2016
Improving the Drug Quality and Safety Net
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2014 | PMID: 24876419
FDA-Approved Biosimilar Insulin: Good Enough for Critical Care, Adulterated, or Counterfeit? How Can We Tell?
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2014
Will Biosimilar Insulins Be Cheaper? (Commentary)
Co-authored with Lutz Heinemann, PhD, 2017
In the Biosimilar Marketplace Will There Be 50 Ways to Leave Your Insulin?
Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2016

Areas of Expertise

Clinical

  • • Diabetes management
  • • Pain management
  • • Neurology
  • • Oncology
  • • Immunizations

Research

  • • Insulin quality/cold chain
  • • Biosimilar/biologic therapies
  • • Analytical chemistry (LC/MS)
  • • Pharmacovigilance
  • • Drug safety evaluation

Administrative

  • • PBM formulary development
  • • Clinical prior authorization
  • • HIPAA compliance
  • • Contract negotiation
  • • Supply chain evaluation

Professional Affiliations

  • University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy – Adjunct Faculty
  • Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society
  • Pharmacy Foundation Board (UMKC) – Board Member
  • Kansas Diabetes Action Council – Past Chair (2008-2012)
  • Chronic Disease Alliance of Kansas – Inaugural Chair (2012-2020)
  • Children's Mercy Family Health Partners – Formulary Committee
  • Humana Medicare Part D Plans – Formulary Committee

Media Coverage

  • KCUR 89.3 (NPR Kansas City) – "Kansas City Researcher Asks: Does Insulin Lose Quality On Its Way To Patients?" (March 2018)
  • American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) – Multiple video interviews on insulin pricing and biosimilars (2017)
  • • Featured in national diabetes and pharmacy publications regarding insulin supply chain research

Dr Ross Walker

Dr Ross Walker has a medical practice in Lindfield on the upper north shore of Sydney. He provides a service in all aspects of echocardiography, focusing on stress echocardiography which is a well accepted, accurate method for assessing heart disease, not involving irradiation or injections. There are presently no other stress echo services on the upper North Shore. Dr Walker commenced stress echocardiography in 1992 and has since performed over 50,000 studies & 80,000 transthoracic echocardiograms. Stress echocardiography provides much more information to the practitioner than stress testing alone. Dr Walker introduced coronary calcium scoring into Australia in 1999 in conjunction with the Sydney Adventist Hospital. His other area of expertise is in the field of preventative cardiology and he has also commenced a related service in arterial screening, which is an indirect measure of endothelial function and arterial stiffness, and does not involve irradiation or injections. Dr Walker has published 7 best selling books on preventative cardiology and lectures both nationally and internationally on this subject.

About CommercialExploitation.org

We are an independent consumer protection organization headquartered in Medina, OH. Our mission is to fight against the commercial exploitation of vulnerable patients by rogue pharmacies. Through our comprehensive Online Pharmacy Review & Comparison Service, we provide verified, data-backed safety insights to help patients access affordable and legitimate healthcare.

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