Teva recalls drugs in UK, Hong Kong

Teva recalled four batches of Desloratadine in the UK and three batches of Simvastatin in Hong Kong.

27 February 13 16:01, Shiri Habib-Valdhorn

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has recalled two drugs in separate incidents in the UK and Hong Kong. Both recalls are partial, limited to specific batches. The financial effect on Teva is immaterial, but no drug company likes a recall.

Two weeks ago in the UK, Teva recalled four batches of 5 mg tablets of Desloratadine, for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, after Teva discovered during stability testing that the tablets had higher levels of impurities than they should. The company said there were no safety issues. Teva subsequently updated the recall after getting the original batch numbers wrong. Desloratidine is made by Germany's ratiopharm, which Teva acquired a few years ago.

In Hong Kong, the Department of Health ordered the recall of three batches of Simvastatin, a prescription generic drug for reducing cholesterol, because of a packaging mistake. A customer found that a packet of 10 mg tablets contained 20 mg tablets.

Teva said in response, "Two weeks ago in the UK, Teva recalled a limited number of batches of 5 mg tablets Desloratadine ratiopharm, following a routine stability test. A recall was also made of Simvastatin in Hong Kong, because of labeling error on the package. We emphasize that although there was no risk to patients taking the two drugs, the company preferred to proceed with extra caution and recalled the products."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 27, 2013

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