Mylan generic recall in NZ
May 28, 2010
THE discovery of underweight
and overweight tablets has led NZ
regulator Medsafe to order a
national consumer-level recall of
Mylan’s Pacific Atenolol 50mg and
100mg cardiac medications.
About 43,000 patients are
affected, with the move initiated
after reports of manufacturing
errors which saw Atenolol tablets of
the same dosage being larger or
smaller than others in the pack.
The discrepancy has led Medsafe
to recall all Atenolol tablets
dispensed since 01 Jan this year,
over concerns that incorrect
dosages could cause symptoms
such as dizziness, fatigue, dry
mouth, fainting or stomach upset.
Mylan, which is the parent
company of Alphapharm in
Australia, is urging patients taking
the tablets to return them to their
pharmacy as soon as possible.
If they can’t get to a pharmacy
immediately they should continue
taking the pills, but exercise
“extreme caution” not to consume
any oddly-sized tablets.
Patients returning tablets to
pharmacies will immediately be
issued with a competitor’s brand of
atenolol, free of charge, whilst
Mylan urgently secures an
alternative to the NZ product from
its US operation.
The NZ Pharmacy Guild says it’s
yet another example of pharmacists
being asked to manage a recall
without remuneration - similar to a
case reported earlier this week (PD
Monday) where the Guild is
backing legal action against GSK
over a warfarin recall in January.
Referring to the Atenolol issue,
NZ Guild ceo Annabel Young said
that pharmacists would “utilise their
time and experience to swiftly
manage this recall”.
“Why is the cost of this work
falling onto community pharmacists
when they are not the producers of
the medicine and are not
responsible for the purchase
decision?” Young said.
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