Monday, April 15, 2019

Voluntary Nationwide Recall of all Liquid Products Manufactured by Pharmatech LLC and Distributed by Leader Brand, Major Pharmaceuticals, and Rugby Laboratories Due to Possible Product Contamination



From the FDA:

As a precautionary measure, the distribution firms Leader Brand, Major Pharmaceuticals, and Rugby Laboratories are jointly issuing a nationwide voluntary recall of all lots within expiry of all liquid products manufactured by PharmaTech LLC at its FDA registered facility in Davie, Fla. due to possible product contamination.
The distribution firms are committed to patient safety and are partnering with the Food and Drug Administration to notify customers who may be in possession of liquid products manufactured by PharmaTech LLC. Please see the below list of affected products.
The products subject to this recall were distributed nationwide to wholesale and retail facilities, including hospitals and pharmacies. Through recent communication with FDA, the distribution firm Rugby Laboratories learned of a potential issue with a product manufactured by PharmaTech LLC. The FDA informed Rugby Laboratories that it received several adverse event reports of B. cepaciainfections in patients, which may be linked to PharmaTech LLC manufactured Diocto Syrup or Diocto Liquid (docusate sodium solutions). In response, Rugby Laboratories issued a voluntary recall on August 3, 2017, of the PharmaTech LLC manufactured Diocto Syrup and Diocto Liquid. As a precautionary measure based on additional information received from the FDA, the three distribution firms are recalling all lots within expiry of all liquid products manufactured by PharmaTech LLC.
The distribution firms are notifying their distributors and customers by recall letter and are arranging for return of all recalled products. Consumers, pharmacies, and healthcare facilities that have product being recalled should stop using and dispensing the product immediately.
Consumers with questions regarding this recall should contact Rugby Laboratories/Major Pharmaceuticals Customer Support at 1-800-645-2158, available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST or Leader Customer Support at 1-800-200-6313 option #1 Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. – 7p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m EST. Consumers can contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have additional questions about this product.

Friday, April 12, 2019

Herbal drug kratom linked to almost 100 overdose deaths, CDC says

From USAT:

An over-the-counter herbal drug has been linked to more deaths in recent years, federal health officials say.
Kratom – a plant grown naturally in Southeast Asia and often sold in powder capsules – was a cause of death in 91 overdoses in the United States from July 2016 to December 2017, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In seven of the overdoses, kratom was the only substance to test positive in a toxicology report, though the CDC says other substances couldn't be ruled out.
Health officials looked at numbers from state overdose reporting databases and found that of the 27,338 overdose deaths in that time period, 152 of the deceased people tested positive for kratom, even if it was not a cause of death.

Our Firm: Filed Valsartan Lawsuits, April, 2019

Our law firm has filed two state court cases involving very nice folks who allege that each now has cancer, and that the a Valsartan containing medication may be the cause of that serious illness. This may be a difficult case to prove a link (if any) but from what we have discovered so far in our investigation, we are concerned enough to try to get consumers justice.

Our office number is 866.373.1800.





From CBS News, this report on Valsartan:

The Food and Drug Administration is warning that your blood pressure medication might be contaminated.
A number of medications have now been recalled because some may contain a suspected carcinogen. That’s creating a shortage of some essential drugs, CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported Tuesday. It began last July when the FDA announced that it was recalling some generic blood pressure drugs, including Valsartan and Losartan, due to contamination with a potential cancer-causing compound called nitrosamine. Since then the agency has expanded the recall to additional generics and lots of medications of the same drug type, leading to patient concern and confusion.
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/04/09/blood-pressure-medication-recall-fda-valsartan-losartan-nitrosamine/