Novartis to record $120-million charge on US product recalls
(Ref: Yahoo!News, FinanzNachrichten, CNN Health, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Novartis, ABC News)
January 9th, 2012
By: Matthew Dennis
Tags: Bufferin Corporate Affairs Excedrin FDA Gas X Marketing & Sales Novartis
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Novartis said it will record a one-time charge of approximately $120 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 after voluntarily recalling four products in the US due to quality issues. The over-the-counter drugs affected include Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention products.
The company noted that the recall, which is being conducted with the knowledge of the FDA, follows "consumer complaints of chipped and broken pills and inconsistent bottle packaging line clearance practices possibly resulting in mixed tablets." According to Novartis, this could potentially lead to "consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient." However, the drugmaker indicated that no adverse events had been reported related to the issues.
Novartis said that operations and shipments had been temporarily halted at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility to "accelerate maintenance and other improvement activities at the site." The company indicated that it will gradually resume operations at the Lincoln plant following the improvements, but at this time does not know when the plant will resume full operations.
(Ref: Yahoo!News, FinanzNachrichten, CNN Health, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, Novartis, ABC News)
January 9th, 2012
By: Matthew Dennis
Tags: Bufferin Corporate Affairs Excedrin FDA Gas X Marketing & Sales Novartis
1
inShare
Novartis said it will record a one-time charge of approximately $120 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 after voluntarily recalling four products in the US due to quality issues. The over-the-counter drugs affected include Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X Prevention products.
The company noted that the recall, which is being conducted with the knowledge of the FDA, follows "consumer complaints of chipped and broken pills and inconsistent bottle packaging line clearance practices possibly resulting in mixed tablets." According to Novartis, this could potentially lead to "consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient." However, the drugmaker indicated that no adverse events had been reported related to the issues.
Novartis said that operations and shipments had been temporarily halted at its Lincoln, Nebraska facility to "accelerate maintenance and other improvement activities at the site." The company indicated that it will gradually resume operations at the Lincoln plant following the improvements, but at this time does not know when the plant will resume full operations.