Pfizer Company issued a recall of the drug after finding out that some of the bottles have the wrong prescription medicine inside.
Fox news reports on the Pfizer recall.
“Pfizer said on Thursday it was recalling two lots of its Effexor XR antidepressant and another lot of its generic version of the drug after a pharmacist reported finding one capsule of a different medicine in a bottle of Effexor,” according to Fox.
Pfizer said they are taking every precaution to ensure that the wrong drugs do not get into the hands of consumers. A pharmacist was surprised to find the wrong drug in Effexor bottles. Fox reports, “The other drug found by the pharmacist was Tikosyn, which is used to treat a common and potentially dangerous irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation.”
Pfizer admits that if these drugs were to be mixed or taken by people who were not diagnosed with them there could be deadly side effects.
The company issued a statement saying, “The use of Tikosyn by an Effexor XR patient, where the contraindications and drug-drug interactions with Tikosyn have not been considered by the prescribing physician, could cause serious adverse health consequences that could be fatal. The three lots recalled total about 104,450 bottles of the medicine, known generically as venlafaxine. Of those, about 65,800 had reached U.S. pharmacies.”
Fox reports, “The recalls involved one lot of 30-count bottles of Effexor XR; one lot of 90-count bottles of the branded drug, and one lot of venlafaxine 150 mg extended release capsules sold by Greenstone LLC. It is a generic drug maker owned by Pfizer.” Pfizer is waiting to find out whether any consumers have taken wrongful drugs from the defective lot; thus far no cases have been reported.
