J&J Recalls 40,000 Bottles of Schizophrenia Drug Risperdal
June 28th, 2011
NaturalNews.com
By: Jonathan Benson
The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Co.’s pharmaceutical division just cannot seem to get its act together. A recent recall involving 16,000 bottles of its schizophrenia drug Risperdal, and 24,000 bottles of a generic version of the same drug, mark yet another in the growing dozens the company has initiated over the past several years. And once again, the cause of the most recent recall involves the same strange odors caused by a palette chemical used to ship the drugs that also spurred earlier recalls.
According to a recent Reuters report, trace amounts of tribromoanisole, a chemical used to treat the wood palettes that store and ship the company’s drugs, apparently keep contaminating the drugs themselves, which is the same reason why the company had to initiate earlier recalls of Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, and others. Though the company claims, without much evidence of course, that the chemical is not harmful to health, officials admit it is at least a nuisance.
“While not considered to be toxic, TBA can generate an offensive odor and a very small number of patients have reported temporary gastrointestinal symptoms when taking other products with this odor,” said J&J in a recent press release.
Sold by the company’s Patriot Pharmaceuticals unit, Risperdal, known generically as risperidone, is the same harmful drug that prompted personnel from Michigan’s Child Protective Service (CPS) to target the now-infamous Maryanne Godboldo. As many NaturalNews readers now know, Godboldo had stopped giving her daughter Risperdal because its side effects were making the girl’s condition worse, which was her right to do, and was later raided by a SWAT team that illegally abducted her daughter.
Risperdal is known to cause abdominal pain, vomiting, aggression, anxiety, dizziness, and lack of coordination. Add to that the scent and taste of toxic chemicals, and it becomes obvious why J&J is opting to voluntarily recall the tainted drug, even if it supposedly poses no additional health risks.
To see the long list of J&J recalls that have taken place in recent years, visit: http://www.naturalnews.com/J&J.html
Click here for the full report from NaturalNews.com
J&J Recalls HIV Drug After Finding Smelly Chemical
May 12th, 2011
FoxBusiness.com
By: Peter Loftus
Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ: 66.04, -0.53, -0.80%) manufacturing-quality lapses continued with the company’s recall of at least 11,700 bottles of HIV/AIDS drug Prezista in several countries, after discovering trace amounts of a chemical emitting offensive odors.
J&J’s said Wednesday it had received four consumer reports of musty or moldy odors, and it found the chemical in five batches of products sold in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria and Canada.
The chemical is 2,4,6 tribromoanisole, also known as TBA, which is a byproduct of a chemical preservative sometimes applied to wood used for pallets to transport and store products.
J&J has initiated recalls at the wholesale and retail levels in the affected European countries, including about 9,000 bottles of 400-milligram tablets, and about 2,700 bottles of 600mg tablets, said spokesman Mark Wolfe. J&J estimates fewer than 2,000 bottles remain in countries where recalls have been initiated. In the U.K., only the 400mg tablets were affected.
In Canada, one lot of 600mg Prezista was found to contain bottles with TBA, and J&J estimates fewer than 300 affected bottles remain on the Canadian market from this lot. J&J is in discussions with Canadian regulatory authorities to determine the appropriate course of action, Wolfe said.
Patients shouldn’t stop taking Prezista, he added.
J&J, New Brunswick, N.J., has been grappling with a series of product recalls that span its diversified businesses, from over-the-counter medicines to hip-replacement parts to surgical sutures. The actions have hurt sales and tarnished J&J’s once-sterling reputation for quality. In response, the company has shuffled management, shuttered a plant outside Philadelphia and taken other steps to try to recover from the quality lapses.
J&J previously blamed TBA and a related chemical for reports of uncharacteristic odors that led to recalls of various over-the-counter medicines including Tylenol, since 2009. Pfizer Inc. (PFE: 20.65, +0.04, +0.19%) also cited TBA in recalls of its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor last year.
J&J said Wednesday TBA isn’t toxic, but can generate musty or moldy odors that cause some patients to have temporary gastrointestinal symptoms.
J&J said there have been no reported serious adverse events caused by the presence of TBA in Prezista.
The affected products were manufactured at a J&J plant in Puerto Rico, Wolfe said. The company had previously taken steps to reduce the potential for TBA contamination, including requiring suppliers to verify they don’t use pallets made from chemically-treated wood. J&J said it’s conducting an internal investigation with suppliers to identify potential sources of TBA.
J&J recorded $857 million in Prezista sales for 2010, up 45% from 2009.
J&J shares rose 78 cents to $66.54 Wednesday.
Click here for the full report from FoxBusiness.com
Pfizer Recalls Lipitor For Third Time Since August!
November 2nd, 2010
WalletPop
By: Gergana Koleva
For the third time in as many months, Pfizer has issued a recall of its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor in response to consumer complaints of unusual moldy odor.
The drug giant said the smell poses minimal health risk to patients, but it is recalling two lots — approximately 38,000 bottles of Lipitor 40mg tablets — out of caution. An internal company investigation, triggered by two customer complaints, found the odor was related to Tribromoanisole, a chemical used as a wood preservative. Pfizer suggested a third-party bottle manufacturer had applied it to packaging for the shipment of its medicines.
Earlier this month, the world’s top drug maker recalled 191,000 bottles of the cholesterol-lowering drug over the same issue. And in August, it withdrew 140,000 bottles from the market.
In a statement, the company said the recall is a result of increased surveillance of odor-related issues after other reports in the industry. Johnson & Johnson’s multiple recalls since last year of over-the-counter medicines included the withdrawal of malodorous Tylenol that had sickened consumers.
Tribromoanisole is often applied to pallets used to transport and store products. Pfizer says as a result of stepped-up monitoring, it now prohibits its use in the shipment of its drugs. The recalled Lipitor lots were packaged and shipped before these changes went into effect, the company said.
Lipitor is the best-selling drug in the world, with nearly $6 billion in sales in the first half of 2010.
