Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has announced a recall of four of its over-the-counter medications marketed in the U.S.
According to the AFP news agency, the firm released a statement Sunday announcing the recall of Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention products due to a malfunction at a plant in Lincoln, Nebraska that was shut down last month.
Novartis Consumer Health (NCH) said that they were “taking this action as a precautionary measure, because the products may contain stray tablets, capsules, or caplets from other Novartis products, or contain broken or chipped tablets.”
“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,” they added, according to the news agency’s report.
“This could potentially result in overdose, interaction with other medications a consumer may be taking, or an allergic reaction if the consumer is allergic to the unintended ingredient,” NCH said.
The Associated Press (AP) says that the voluntary recall involves bottles of Excedrin headache medication and NoDoz caffeine tablets with expiration dates of December 20, 2014 or earlier, as well as Bufferin pain medication and Gas-X stomach medicine with expiration dates of December 20, 2013 or earlier.
Consumers are being advised to either return the unused product to NCH, or destroy it.
The recall will cost Novartis a fourth-quarter loss of $120 million, according to Reuters’ Katie Reid.
“Novartis said there had not been any adverse events reported and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was aware of the recall,” Reid reported, adding that the company “plans to gradually resume operations at its Lincoln site following implementation of planned improvements and in agreement with the FDA.”
“We are committed to a single quality standard for the entire Novartis Group and we are making the necessary investments and committing the right resources to ensure these are implemented across our entire network,” Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez said in a statement. “The high quality of our products and operations has been critical to building the Novartis reputation over the past 15 years. We are committed to ensuring the highest standard for patients who rely on our products and medicines.”
The AP says that, starting on Monday, January 9, consumers can visit the website http://www.novartis-otc.com/otcmessage.html for more information regarding the recall. Concerned individuals can also call the company at 1-888-477-2403 from 9am to 8pm EST, Monday to Friday.
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On the Net:
Excedrin, NoDoz, Gas-X Recall Notice Issued
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