Generic Medication Safety Issues Continue, Notes Brunswick Personal Injury Lawyer

Brunswick, GA (Law Firm Newswire) January 25, 2013 – A pharmaceutical company has recalled medication that may include specks of glass.

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals has issued a recall of a generic medication distributed by retail pharmacies of the drug Atorvastatin, a generic form of Lipitor, which fights cholesterol. However, the FDA has yet to formally instruct consumers to not take the drug if they already have it in their possession. Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. is recalling 41 lots of 90 and 500-count bottles of manufactured Atorvastatin Calcium in the form of 10, 20 and 40-milligram tablets.

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals has issued a simple one-paragraph statement on its corporate website, instructing customers that their pills may be contaminated with glass. The statement says in part that some batches of the medication may include extremely small glass particles, and that they were recalling the medication out of an “abundance of caution.” There were no instructions about what to do with the medication – return it, dispose of it, etc.

“Consumers trust the medication they take to be safe and safety-tested,” stated Brunswick personal injury attorney Nathan Williams. “And yet once again we see a safety issue around generic medication manufacturing.”

It is estimated that more than 3 million people currently take Atorvastatin. The company produces an estimated 40 percent of the generic Lipitor on the market. Currently, pharmacies have not been instructed to replace the possibly tainted Atorvastatin with another generic of Lipitor, as there have been no official safety concerns issued by the FDA. Consumer Reports has issued an advisory to consumers that they may take the potentially contaminated medicine to the pharmacy where it was filled and request a different brand.

Ranbaxy Pharmacy is one if the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the world and has been accused in the past by the FDA of “a pattern of systemic fraudulent conduct.” Issues have included alleged shortcuts in the quality tests performed on medications. In 2008, the FDA barred 30 different drugs manufactured by Ranbaxy from entering the U.S. A report from the FDA also states that there were shipments banned in 2009, originating from Ranbaxy’s manufacturing plant, due to compliance-related issues. Officials at Ranbaxy agreed to make necessary changes to appease the FDA earlier this year.

Nathan Williams is a Brunswick personal injury lawyer, Brunswick divorce attorney, Brunswick criminal defense attorney and Brunswick DUI lawyer in Southeast Georgia. Visit http://www.thewilliamslitigationgroup.com or call 1.912.264.0848.

The Williams Litigation Group
5 St. Andrews Court
Brunswick, GA 31520
Phone: 912.264.0848
Toll Free: 877.307.4537
Fax: 912-264-6299

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