Pharmacy Daily | Novartis’ cautionary recall

NOVARTIS has recalled four drugs in the US after the Food and Drug Administration detected problems in the company’s malfunctioning plant in Lincoln, Nebraska. The recalls affect the company’s Excedrin and NoDoz products with expiration dates of 20 December 2014 or earlier and its Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention therapies with expiration dates of 20 December 2013 or earlier. According to reports the recall was issued as a precautionary measure due to packaging and labeling problems at the Nebraska plant, which according to the FDA could result in the recalled products containing stray tablets, capsules, or caplets from other Novartis products, or containing broken or chipped tablets. “NCH is taking this action as a precautionary measure,” a statement from Novartis said. “Mixing of different products in the same bottle could result in consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient. “This could potentially result in overdose, interaction with other medications a consumer may be taking, or an allergic reaction,” the statement added. The Nebraska plant also manufactures strong pain medications for Endo Pharmaceuticals including Opana and Percocet, however the FDA is not advising recalls due to several reasons including fears of possible drug shortages. Instead US pharmacists are being urged to visually inspect these pain medications before dispensing.

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