Mixup at Lincoln, NE Novartis Packaging Plant - 8 Opioid Drugs "Mixed Up"

[Sarojini]

http://www.medpagetoday.com/ProductAlert/Prescriptions/30559

For all of you taking opioid meds for your pain, please do note that the FDA has just warned that Percocet, Percodan, Opana, oxymorphone, morphine sulfate, and 3 other opiate meds coming out of Novartis' Lincoln, NE packaging plant were mixed up, resulting in one med being packaged as another. PLEASE, if you note any weird pills in your next script of any of the meds in the article (different color, shape, etc), be on the safe side and talk to your pharmacist before taking the weird ones; it may just be that they switched generics on you, but it is also possible for the next little bit that it is a completely different med.

What a mess...

[icnmgrjill]

Here's what the FDA released today about it. This is a monumental mixup at that plant. WOW!!!!

- - - -

Endo Pharmaceuticals Opiate Products by Novartis Consumer Health: Public Health Advisory - Potential Safety Risk

Including the following products:
Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride) Extended-Release Tablets CII
Opana (oxymorphone hydrochloride) CII
Oxymorphone hydrochloride Tablets CII
PERCOCET (oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen USP) Tablets CII
PERCODAN (oxycodone hydrochloride and aspirin, USP) Tablets CII
ENDOCET (oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen USP) Tablets CII
ENDODAN (oxycodone hydrochloride and aspirin, USP) Tablets CII
MORPHINE SULFATE Extended-Release Tablets CII
ZYDONE (hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen tablets, USP) CIII

AUDIENCE: Pharmacy, Consumers
ISSUE: FDA is advising healthcare 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.

Healthcare 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:

Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report.htm

Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
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

[Sarojini]

Even worse... the same plant ALSO messed up on their non-prescription, OTC side, and several lots of Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin, and Gas-X may have been mispackaged in the same manner! These lots have all been recalled, but once again, if you or someone you know buys these and there are strange pills in there, take it back to the pharmacy it came from to let them know!

[JenAZ07]

Do you know if this was a mix-up from 2009....and thus likely already pulled and not likely to be in any of the pills we currently have? (Just thinking the pharmacies would be selling them anymore because they would be expired, but perhaps they are?). Both my hubby and I use their drugs (we buy from Costco), and I have several bottles recently filled that I have not looked through. I usually look at them, primarily because Costco has this bad habit of selling broken pills (there have been times where I have only gotten 220 vs 240 pills because they have given me pills broken in 1/2), but haven't had a chance yet. Guess I need to make this a priority tonight.

Scary! You would think there would be better safety measures in place to be sure these types of things didn't happen.....especially when dealing with opiates. You would think that would be a requirement by the FDA....especially with opiates....to make sure there was no crossover or employee theft, etc.

[meagain]

No wonder my doc is afraid to prescribe these meds!! Recently he's been all gun shy, telling me there have been many emergency room fatalities for overdose and he wants to get everyone off of them. He said the last three months there have been a lot of new articles about this. I figured it was just the old enforcement guys rearing their ugly little heads again. It may still be them, what do I know.
I hate them. Why aren't they out investigating that pharma co?? I mean BIG TIME. I don't understand my country anymore.

Like you, methadone is what works for me. I find it ideal for pain it's cheap and it lasts a long time and doesn't leave you looking 'stoned'. It is, however, the most dangerous drug if some IDIOT decided to take 2 as druggies are wont to do. I don't respond to morphine.Oxycodone gave me a nasty rebound thing when I tried it, and it only made me feel weird like Lyrica did. I've tried a lot of things.
Hey, Obama is pushing for a law requiring drug makers to report their contacts with doctors! No more peddling the latest thing in exchange for a golf trip! I hate watching the revolving door at all the doctors' offices. All of a sudden they are super eager to prescribe something that you can think of 5 reasons why it might be hazardous, if they read your chart again... :tsk:

I saw a 60 Minutes special a couple months ago about Phizer mixing up all kind of drugs at a plant in puerto Rico. The lady supervisor sent to check on them just cried and cried. She got fired for blowing the whistle when they wouldn't take action to correct it!

What do you get when you trim staff to the bone, make them work longer hours and throw in a bunch of temps with nobody to tell them nothin about nothin? :dizzy: