India's Zydus Cadila recalls over 10,000 bottles of allergy drug in U.S

[May 30, 2014]  MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Zydus Cadila is recalling 10,200 bottles of an allergy-relief drug in the United States after another drug for high blood pressure was found in one of the bottles, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.

The recall was voluntarily started by the company's U.S. unit, Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, on May 8, due to the presence of the high blood pressure medicine atenolol in a bottle containing the allergy drug, promethazine hydrochloride.

Promethazine hydrochloride is commonly used to treat allergic disorders, nausea, vomiting and difficulty sleeping, as well as for pre-operative sedation.

The FDA classified the recall as Class II, which means use of or exposure to the recalled products may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.
 

The bottles being recalled carry an expiry date of September 2015, according to the FDA post. (http://r.reuters.com/xaf79v)

"This was a voluntary recall by the company as a precautionary measure," a Zydus spokeswoman said in an email to Reuters.

Recalls of drugs are not uncommon.

However, Zydus's drug recall is the seventh this year by an Indian company, and follows those by other large drugmakers including Wockhardt Ltd, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Lupin Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The incidents come at a time when the FDA has increased its scrutiny of Indian drugmakers after the agency banned exports from manufacturing plants of some top drugmakers, including Ranbaxy and Wockhardt, upon finding quality control lapses.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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