Johnson & Johnson Recalls 57,000 Bottles Of Chemical Epilepsy Pills

TRENTON, N.J. -- Johnson & Johnson issued yet another recall Thursday, this one for about 57,000 bottles of a widely used epilepsy pill, due to complaints of a chemical odor.

The health care giant said it is recalling two lots of 100-milligram tablets of Topamax, sold between Oct. 19 and Dec. 28, 2010. The lot numbers are OKG110 and OLG222. J&J said fewer than 6,000 of the bottles are believed to still be on the market.

J&J said only that the pills were sold in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

The New Brunswick, N.J., company has now issued 22 product recalls, involving well over 300 million bottles of medicines, since September 2009.

Many of the recalls involved widely used nonprescription drugs such as Motrin and Children's Tylenol. The reasons have ranged from metal and other contaminants, to nauseating odors and packaging issues. Joint replacement systems so painful they required corrective surgery were also recalled, as were contact lenses that irritated eyes, along with potentially contaminated syringes full of the antipsychotic drug Invega.

The high-profile lapses have tugged at J&J's revenue, profit and stock price, as well as its once-stellar reputation.

On Thursday, Johnson & Johnson said it had received four consumer complaints of an odor believed to be a chemical called TBA, or tribromoanisole, a byproduct of a chemical preservative sometimes used on shipping pallets.

J&J said "a very small number of patients have reported temporary gastrointestinal symptoms," but TBA is not considered toxic.

The same issue was linked to some of its previous recalls.

Lost revenue stemming from recalls and the lengthy closure of a plant in suburban Philadelphia reduced J&J's 2010 sales by $900 million.

In the fourth quarter, J&J posted a 12 percent profit decline and a 5.5 percent drop in sales.

The latest bad news for J&J comes just five days before it is scheduled to release first-quarter results.

In January, J&J forecast 2011 earnings per share of about $4.85, well below analysts' expectation of $4.99 a share for 2011.

Comments

[ritgar]

08:43 PM on 04/15/2011

J&J needs to stop making they stuff in CHINA!!

[OldTulsan]

02:52 AM on 04/16/2011

Is Topamax made in China ?

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/10/0518/chinadrugs.html
You Don't Know Where Your Drugs Come From And Neither Does The FDA; U.S. Imports 90 Percent Of Its Antibiotics (And Vitamin A) From China

"China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest manufacturer of bulk drugs, vitamins and nutritional supplements and is now exporting a large portion of its production to the United States. Tens of millions of American consumers have no idea that the majority of the over-the-counter drugs they are purchasing now originate in China, where there are "relatively few regulations related to pharmaceutical exports in comparison to industrialized economies," according to a report commissioned by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The increasing dependence on China for active pharmaceutical ingredients and nutritional supplements "presents a range of issues for concern."

In 2008, China produced $25.7 billion worth of bulk drugs (up 23 percent from 2007), and exported $17.6 billion of that output (an increase of 30 percent over 2007). "For many years, China has been exporting more than half of its bulk drug products to nearly 200 countries," according to the study by NSD Bio Group. "As a result, China-sourced raw ingredients have a growing impact on the global pharmaceutical market."

The country is now the world's largest producer of acetominophen used in Contac, Benadryl, Excedrin, Sudafed, Theraflu and Vicks, among others..."

[BeautyAmerican]

02:56 AM on 04/16/2011

Hey OT, I posted this question to one of the other pharm. topics, maybe you'll see it here too... is there a link that shows where drugs are manufactured, then sold in the US? Maybe not, since you're asking where Topomax is made? Does the FDA keep such a list that the consumer can view?

[Rockwell]

10:25 PM on 04/14/2011

Were they nabbed in a search and seizure?

. . . I'm going to burn in hell.

[osofar]

07:59 AM on 04/15/2011

I'll bet J&J are having a fit over this recall...
(I'll be joining you as well!)

[artist-53]

12:09 PM on 04/15/2011

You know, You guys that make humorous statements concerning seizure disorders, how old are you? And after reading the article all you could come up with was an attempt at sp called humor towards a disorder.

As a person with a seizure disorder I didn't laugh.

I won't click flag as abusive because I want people to know just how insensitive some people are along with your log on names.

[Rockwell]

09:14 PM on 04/15/2011

I apologize. Sincerely. I don't like to hurt anyone's feelings unless they are a republican.

[bluejoni2525]

07:51 PM on 04/14/2011

It seems that J&J are recalling something every week, talk about a business going downhill fast !!!

[Robert Nix]

07:46 PM on 04/14/2011

If that can get on the meds what else can. Why don't they hermetically seal these things!