Including the following products:
AUDIENCE: Pharmacy, Consumers
ISSUE: FDA is advising health care professionals and patients of a potential problem with opiate products manufactured and packaged for Endo Pharmaceuticals by Novartis Consumer Health at its Lincoln, Nebraska manufacturing site. Due to problems that occurred when these products were packaged and labeled at the site, tablets from one product type may have carried over into packaging of another product. This could result in a stray pill of one medicine ending up in the bottle of another product.
BACKGROUND: Opiates are potent medications used to alleviate pain and are available only by prescription. Endo Pharmaceuticals reports that they are aware of only three product mix-ups with respect to these products since 2009; all three were detected by pharmacists. Endo is not aware of any patient having experienced a confirmed product mix-up, nor any adverse events attributable to a product mix-up.
RECOMMENDATION: FDA advises patients and healthcare professionals to examine opiate medicines made by Endo in their possession and ensure that all tablets are the same.
Health care professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
Read the medWatch safety alert, including a link to the FDA Public Health Advisory, at:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm286280.htm