As consumers and patients, we rely on product manufacturers and distributors to ensure that products are reasonably safe and properly labeled. Unfortunately, when companies fail in this regard, defective products can have devastating consequences. People who have been affected by a dangerous product need to be aware of their right to hold the responsible party accountable.
With safety in mind, diabetes and high-cholesterol patients in the Chicago area should be aware of two recent drug recalls. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, the manufacturer of a generic diabetes medication, issued a recall after a customer noticed epilepsy pills mixed in with diabetes drugs. In particular, patients with a prescription for metformin hydrochloride should be on guard.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, Sun Pharma has recalled a batch of 2,528 bottles labeled as metformin hydrochloride. The batch of drugs has an expiration date of March 2016, and the voluntary recall was issued in late January.
Another pharmaceutical mix-up has led to a separate recall of a generic form of Lipitor. The FDA reports that a pharmacist noticed a 20-milligram pill of atorvastatin — the generic cholesterol-lowering drug — in a sealed bottle labeled for 10-milligram pills. The drug manufacturer, Ranbaxy Laboratories, has recalled 64,626 bottles of the drug.
In fact, Ranbaxy has recalled atorvastatin twice in the past 15 months. Citing safety issues, the FDA has already said that four of the company’s manufacturing facilities in India are not allowed to export to the United States. Ranbaxy also has a plant in New Jersey, but the company wouldn’t say whether the drugs in the most recent recall were manufactured in that facility.
Our product liability website has more on what to do in the event that a defective product causes injuries.
Source: Bloomberg, “Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy Recall Some Generic Drug Batches in U.S.,” Ketaki Gokhale, March 10, 2014
