Dive Brief:
- Pfizer has voluntarily recalled 3 lots of its best-selling nerve pain med Lyrica, after extreme heat damaged the drugs during shipping. The three lots are comprised of nearly 150,000 bottles of Lyrica.
- The drugmaker issued a letter to customers detailing the lots recalled on January 11.
- Although the drugs are being recalled, Pfizer does not believe the heat damage presented a health risk to patients who may have received the drugs.
Dive Insight:
The Lyrica lots had been shipped to wholesalers in the United States from Germany sometime last fall. Pfizer learned of the damage in December, according to Pain News Network.
It appears the drugs were damaged during transport from Germany. However, as the drugmaker did not believe there was a serious health risk to patients, Pfizer did not issue a public press release about the recall. The FDA also has not posted a notice on its list of drug recalls.
In its letter ordering a recall, Pfizer indicated it would provide reimbursement for returned product. However, the financial effect of the recall is not clear.