What best describes a reverse distributor?

• A. A pharmacy's courier service
• B. A hospital's storage facility
• C. A reverse distributor is a person or company that retrieves unusable or outdated drugs from a pharmacy for disposal
• D. A manufacturer that repackages drugs

Answer: (C)

Reverse distribution is the back-end of the pharmaceutical supply chain that handles unusable, expired, recalled, or surplus medications. The entity involved retrieves these drugs from pharmacies and ensures their proper disposal or return to the manufacturer under regulatory requirements, with appropriate documentation. This focusing on retrieval and disposal differentiates it from a courier (which just transports items), a hospital storage facility (which simply stores meds), or a manufacturer that repackages drugs (which is part of getting products ready for sale, not handling returns).