McNeil Announces Sweeping Recall of Infants’ and Children's OTC Products

In an April 30th announcement, McNeil Consumer Healthcare in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that they are voluntarily recalling all lots that have not yet expired of certain over-the-counter (OTC) Children’s and Infants’ liquid products manufactured in the United States and distributed in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Dubai (UAE), Fiji, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, and Kuwait.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare stated that they were initiating this voluntary recall because some of these products may not meet required quality standards.

According to McNeil the recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse medical events but as a precautionary measure and advises parents and caregivers should not administer these products to their children.

Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than is specified; others may contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles.

While the potential for serious medical events is remote, the company advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.

The company is conducting a comprehensive quality assessment across its manufacturing operations and has identified corrective actions that will be implemented before new manufacturing is initiated at the plant where the recalled products were made.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, recommends that all members of the supply chain protect their inventories and their brand by deploying authentication and material verification that will interdict issues with adulteration, fraud, counterfeit and improper manufacturing that threaten the efficacy of pharmaceuticals and the health of consumers downstream.

In the past several years, manufacturing and quality assurance concerns by pharmaceutical companies have been discovered within the supply chain that could and should have been detected at various points of the supply chain by readily available material authentication solutions.

For a complete list of the products, visit: http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtml?id=/include/new_recall.inc.

To learn more about supply chain material authentication solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

K-V Pharmaceutical May Not Resume Sales Until 4th Quarter

K-V Pharmaceuticals announced last week that it will not resume sales until October 2010 at the earliest and may have to cut operations to stay in business.

K-V stopped all manufacturing and shipping in January 2009 after a series of product recalls and has closed its generic drug unit Ethex.

K-V pleaded guilty in February to charges it failed to inform regulators about manufacturing problems that caused some of its pills to be too large, which could have lead to accidental overdoses.

The K-V saga is a cautionary tale of a company who has suffered from a lack of product quality control, testing and verification. Had authentication technologies been in place at the point of manufacture, distribution or dispense the issue of manufacturing difficulties would have been discovered prior to the dispensing of the drug to any consumer.

XStream Systems encourages the entire pharmaceutical supply chain to employ authentication and verification technologies from end to end to protect inventories and consumers.

Up to 30 per cent of EU generics 'contain falsified APIs'

On Friday, SecuringPharma, published an interesting article on the quality of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in European generics.

The European Fine Chemicals Group claims that 20 to 30 percent of the APIs come from unapproved sources.

EFCG board member Guy Villax quoted that figure, which he attributed to EU inspectors, at a press conference at the Conference on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) held last week in Madrid, Spain.

This causes a huge challenge to the validity and efficiency of the finished product as a single batch of an API can reach from 10,000 to 1,000,000 patients. Currently a manufacturer receives Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification based not only on their own practices, but those of their suppliers as well. If their suppliers are in reality not as they have stated, you can see how this circumvents the inspection process.

Council of Europe is drafting legislation on counterfeit medicines to be reviewed by 40 countries. However, EFCG does not agree with the current wording of the EU's draft directive which suggests that API manufacturers can be inspected by their own domestic authorities, providing their enforcement systems are deemed 'equivalent' by the EU, i.e. they conform to ICH Q7 and are based on regular inspections.

This would work with countries such as the USA, Japan and Australia, said Villax, but he is concerned that equivalence could be granted for political reasons to other countries where the systems may be prone to fraud and corruption.

We at XStream Systems agree that the quality of the finished product is only as good as the quality of the ingredients that are contained therein. In the United States this was only too evident in last year’s case of tainted heparin, where the active ingredient had been tainted by unapproved suppliers and resulted in the death of over 80 people.

To view the entire article visit: www.securingpharma.com.

Caraco: FDA to Eventually Allow Manufacturing Operations

The Associated Press and several major news outlets reported that Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to a series of measures with the FDA that will allow the company to resume manufacturing operations.

As reported on Secure Pharma Chain Blog, Caraco has had their manufacturing operations halted by the FDA after they found repeated violations of manufacturing standards and seized inventories. Recalls have been made on certain Caraco products that were found to have manufacturing defects, including oversized tablets and possible formulation errors.

The manufacturing restrictions will be in place until regulators give written notification of compliance with the agreement measures and regulations. Caraco will continue to distribute FDA-approved products manufactured by third parties.

XStream endorses the concept that all members of the pharmaceutical supply chain utilize material screening process in all points of the process; raw materials, production, quality assurance, packaging, distribution and dispensing in order to protect the supply chain and the consumer.

To learn more about XStream’s revolutionary material screening technology visit: www.xstreamsystems.net.

Contract Pharma: Assuring Quality in the Global Supply Chain-Measuring Risk in Sourcing

In the September 2009 issue of Contract Pharma magazine, Helena Champion the Principal Consultant with Drug Quality Assurance LLC, writes a must read article for senior to mid level pharmaceutical executives about dealing with the risk of quality assurance of pharmaceuticals in this era of globalization of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

As posted on previous stories and blogs at Secure Pharma Chain Blog, the issue of the globalization of the pharmaceutical supply chain has led to a worldwide epidemic that affects the quality of medications and a proliferation of counterfeit drugs.

XStream Systems endorses the concept that both private industry and government regulatory agencies use technology such as XStream’s XT250 to screen, authenticate and verify the contents of products within the supply chain from the point of production to the consumer. The use of a material screening process, which verifies the material inside its unit-of-sale container, enables the entire supply chain to mitigate its liability and ensures the consumer that the product is safe and efficacious.

In the article titled Assuring Quality in the Global Supply Chain-Measuring Risk in Sourcing, Ms. Champion outlines a compelling history and case for quality assurance measures along with a Supplier Risk Scoring Tool for use by a Material Supplier/Provider Combination. Ms. Champion states in the introduction that, “this article explores the risks of depending, without reliable verification, on remote suppliers to maintain the quality and safety of their supply chain and the materials we buy from them.” Although Ms. Champion primarily focuses on manufacturing, much of her article is relevant and could be applied and used by members of any supply chain-from production to dispenser.

Here are some of interesting portions pulled from Ms. Champion’s article:

• Heparin Tragedy-In early 2008 there were numerous adverse events, some fatal associated with Baxter International’s heparin parenteral products and they voluntarily recalled nearly all their heparin products in the United States…at least 80 people in the United States died from contaminated heparin products.


• Experiences in Other Industries-Experiences in other industries moving production and supply to low-cost suppliers have not been very different from the heparin experience. The Economist recently reviewed a book by Paul Midler, Poorly Made in China: An Inside Account of the Tactics Behind China’s production Game. Mr. Midler is fluent in Chinese and has consulted in China since 2001 for Western companies replacing factories in Europe and America with sub-contracting relationships in China. His Western clients were delighted with how Chinese factories could do things so well, so fast and so cheaply, but were puzzled as to how this was possible. There was reason to question the low prices-he soon found that “quality fade” was common, as Chinese factories transformed what were, in fact profitless contracts into lucrative relationships.


• Even if test are made more specific, third party testing is certainly not enough to assure the quality of pharmaceuticals and especially biologics and biopharmaceuticals.


• The tryptophan dietary supplement disaster over 20 years ago provides an example of the risks of changing a process without extensive testing to validate the new process-a manufacturer made a change to the process and did not anticipate that a very toxic impurity would result, which killed at least 37 people and permanently disabled more than 1,500 people in the United States.


• The existence of a United States affiliate or a United States Agent does not guarantee real knowledge of the supply chain or its integrity.


• Economic fraud is not new and nor is it confined to any one country or industry…In the 1990’s Flavine International, a NJ-based broker of bulk drugs, bought bulk gentamicin sulfate at low prices from unapproved sources in China. Flavine repackaged the bulk drug to resemble gentamicin sulfate manufactured by Long March Pharmaceutical...there were a number of adverse events linked to drug product made with the counterfeit gentamicin…Flavine, its owner and its vice president were fined and the owner got a two-year prison sentence.


• You are Responsible For Your Supply Chain-It has become obvious that companies in general need to know much more about their supply chains than in the past and that there are hazards in taking supplier information at face value.


• Five Steps To Achieve and Maintain Comprehensive Supplier Qualification:

Step One-Quality in Depth, A company needs to perform a comprehensive, in-depth evaluation of a supplier for a particular material. API and component manufacturers often do not allow a customer to audit their operations in detail, to protect proprietary knowledge and confidentiality, but a superficial audit is no long a viable approach.

Step Two-Use Experienced, Technically Expert Auditors to Perform On-Site in Depth Audits-They Can Change the Game

Step Three- Need to Identify and Audit the Upstream Supply Chain for Critical Materials - Audits conducted by You or Your Agent

Step Four-Trust But Verify Regularly, After initially qualifying the supplier of an API or components and demonstrating that the supplier can consistently provide material that meets specifications, drug product and device manufacturers still need to regularly check supplier compliance through reliable means.

Step Five-Management Responsibility to Understand and Mitigate Supplier Risk, Senior management should be informed and updated regularly as to the security and integrity of critical supply chains.

• The best suppliers will accept the new reality of increased transparency, and brokers and distributors who can establish and guarantee the level of quality assurance associated with more rigorous auditing and supply chain verification will be invaluable.

Written for and from the standpoint of quality assurance at the point of manufacture, this very detailed article gives a solid roadmap for executives and managers to gauge and or build a process that protects their supply chains and begin to understand the potential for catastrophic consequences economically and to the general health of a population if they do not take the issue seriously.

Not mentioned by Ms. Champion in this article is the role that technology can be deployed and used to screen and protect manufacturers, packagers, distributors, dispensers and ultimately the consumers in authenticating at each step of the supply chain the veracity of their products. By using the processes described in the article with a suite of technology it is possible for the supply chain to protect itself from the various nefarious sources that threaten it.

To read Ms. Champion’s article in full in the September 2009 issue of Contract Pharma, visit their website at: www.contractpharma.com.

To learn more about XStream Systems and its revolutionary technology that allows the pharmaceutical supply chain to verify and authenticate materials inside their sealed unit-of-sale container, visit their website at: www.xstreamsystems.net.

Recall on Heart Worm Prevention Meds Due to Lack of Quality Control

In yet another recall of a medication due to quality assurance, dosage control and sub potency, the manufacturer that produces the heartworm prevention medicine, Worm Shield, has been taken off of store shelves because there's not enough medicine in the product to prevent heartworms.

No adverse reactions or illnesses have been reported as a result of taking this product.

Affected product lots:

• WORM SHIELD Dogs Small 0-25 lbs., lot #090073


• WORM SHIELD Dogs Large 51-100 lbs., lot #090095

If your dog weighs 75 pounds or more, it may not be currently protected against heartworm. All owners who have a dog that weigh 75 pounds or more, should schedule an appointment as soon as possible with your local veterinarian for heartworm testing. Your dog will need to be tested again in five to six months after its last dose to ensure it was not infected.


According to the manufacturer, dogs that weigh less than 75 pounds are currently protected against heartworm, but the product may not work at acceptable levels through the expiration date. Owners should return any WORM SHIELD from the recalled lots as soon as possible so it can be replaced to ensure your Pet’s protection from heartworm infection. If you are concerned about your Pet’s health, please contact your veterinarian for further advice.

Clearly this is yet another example of lack of quality control as it relates to the clinical effectiveness of the medication. XStream advocates that manufacturers, distributors and dispensers of all medications utilize technology like XStream’s XT250 in maintaining quality assurance of the efficacy of the product, while protecting against fraud and counterfeiting.

The attached links are several stories linked to the recall:

http://www.cbs42.com/content/links/story/Recall-on-Heart-Worm-Prevention-Meds/eejNhh04f067XDJoYngnfA.cspx

http://www.banfield.net/r/client-information-regarding-recall-of-two-lots-of-worm-shield-%20

FDA MedWatch: Barr Laboratories Recall On Potentially Super-Potent Tablets

Barr Laboratories, Inc. issued a voluntary recall of Dextroamphetamine Saccharate, Amphetamine Aspartate, Dextroamphetamine Sulfate and Amphetamine Sulfate (Mixed Salts of a Single Entity Amphetamine Product) 20mg Tablets, 100 count bottles, lot number 311756. The product is being recalled because the affected lot may contain some tablets exceeding weight requirements which may lead to super-potent tablets.

Clinically significant adverse reactions to a supra-therapeutic dose could include cardiovascular, neurologic, psychiatric and gastrointestinal reactions. Customers who have this lot in their possession are instructed to cease using the product and return it to their pharmacy/distributor.

XStream Systems, endorses material screening of medications within the supply chain from manufacturer to dispenser to significantly reduce issues with product quality, adulterated and counterfeit medications. By using solutions like XStream’s XT250, a user can verify and authenticate medications inside their sealed, unit-of-sale container without opening or destroying the product.

Read the MedWatch safety summary, including a link to the firm's Press Release, at:
www.fda.gov.

Another Recall Concerning Inferior Drugs

Pharmaceutical recalls concerning the substandard production, size, dosage and quality of the product already within the domestic supply chain have proliferated recently within the United States.

These broad recalls seemingly demonstrate a broad lack of regulatory control and inspection at the point of manufacturing and import.

We believe that it is important that all of the members of the pharmaceutical supply chain engage in materials authentication and verification in order to protect their inventories from shoddy product that will impact the health of the consumer.


Caraco Recalls Generic Pills Over Irregular Sizes (Update1)

Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. recalled generic heart tablets that may contain the wrong amount of medicine, sending the drugmaker down the most in four months in New York trading.

The voluntary recall covers 0.125 milligram and 0.25 milligram digoxin tablets distributed before today and within the expiration date of September 2011, according to statements released today by the company and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Size differences among the pills may mean they have too much or too little of the active ingredient.

The full article can be viewed on www.bloomberg.com.

Watson Recalls Propafenone HCL Tablets Due to Oversized Tablets

Recent increases in recalls due to quality issues have highlighted a need for Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) post packaging within the supply chain especially given the high concentration of contract production/packaging done overseas. One such recall is listed below:

This week Watson Pharmaceuticals, a leading specialty pharmaceutical recalled one lot of Propafenone HCL 225 mg tables in 100 count bottles. This lot number 1112680A with an expiration date of July 31, 2010 is being recalled due to slightly higher levels of the active ingredient.

Propafenone is a medication used to treat cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). Some patients who are sensitive may experience potentially serious side effects, including irregular heartbeats or low blood sugar.

More information on this recall is available at: www.watson.com.

How do Recalls Affect Consumer Loyalty?

A new study release by Deloitte shows that safety issues costs companies millions of revenue dollars. The study shows that when consumers hear of product safety and/or quality issues, more than half of them switch products for nine months or more, increasing the likelihood that they would discontinue the brand use entirely.

Modern consumers are less tolerant of recalls and over 49 percent are extremely concerned with product safety. Those population segments with the greatest concern are women (53%) and seniors (56% of those over the age of 55).

In addition, recent recalls from China have left the public with a distrust of items manufactured there. Over 73 percent stated they were extremely apprehensive about items manufactured in China.

To see how loyalty is affected, just look at last year’s recall issue where thousands of pets died from tainted products resulting in the largest recall of pet food in US history. Today, pet owners, even in this economic downturn, are reluctant to change to a cheaper pet food. ….

A recent article by the associated press stated “That's because many pet owners, who upgraded their kibble after contaminated pet food killed or sickened thousands of animals last year are leery of switching back…..”

So what can companies do to assure their customers that their products are safe? Consumers want safety information on the package, on the company website, and from the government. Furthermore, testing materials for consumer safety is a necessity.

Build and they shall come – But, test and assure and they will stay.