Pfizer recalls 4.2million drug packets due to risk of child poisoning
Pfizer recalls 4.2 million drug packages due to risk of poisoning due to non-compliance with child-resistant packaging standards
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is recalling millions of packs of its migraine medications after they were found not to meet child-resistant packaging standards.
Packages of Nurtec ODT, a prescription drug, were deemed by authorities to have unsafe packaging US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). If a child breaks into the package and swallows the pills, they could become poisoned.
emphasized Pfizer there is no need to return Nurtec ODT packs as the notification only pertains to the pack. The drug is still safe when used correctly.
Rimegepant, sold under brand names including Nurtec ODT, is used to prevent and treat migraine headaches in adults. It first received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020.
The drug, which featured ads for Khloe Kardashian, works by blocking CGRP receptors.
CPSC advised customers to “immediately store the recalled product out of the sight and reach of children.”
The New York City-based company is issuing a voluntary recall of packages of its Nurtec ODT 75 mg Orally Disintegrating Tablets.
These are sold in boxes containing one blister card containing eight tablets, but said it was not aware of any potential childhood poisoning from the packaging.
The packaging does not meet child-resistant requirements for oral prescription drugs as mandated by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA).
This ‘pos[es] a risk of poisoning if the contents are swallowed by young children,” the CPSC.
The CPSC uses the term “recall” to mean “any repair, replacement, refund, or notice/warning program.”
The public body advised customers to ‘keep the recalled product immediately out of the sight and reach of children’.
Once the product is out of the sight and reach of children, “consumers can continue to use it as directed.”
Pfizer issues child-resistant bags to store the medication free of charge, and people in possession of the medication can contact Pfizer at 1-800-879-3477 to request one.
The tablets were sold in pharmacies in the US from December 2021 through March 2023.
Pharmacists have been told to put the pills in bottles with child-resistant lids when filling patients’ prescriptions.
Each year, more than half a million children under the age of five experience potential drug poisoning.
In young children, 95 percent of drug-related poisoning visits to emergency departments are due to an unsupervised child swallowing drugs.
In March last year, Pfizer recalled three blood pressure pills, including Accuretic and two generic brands, after discovering they contained elevated levels of nitrosamines — a cancer-causing impurity also found in cured meats.