Royal Pharmaceutical Society Of Great Britain Advises On Counterfeit Zyprexa, UK

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Also Included In: Schizophrenia;  Bipolar;  Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 27 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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Following the recall by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of Zyprexa batch numbers A200127, A216454, and A229505, which have been confirmed as counterfeit, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) advises pharmacists to check their stock and to consult counterfeit guidance available on the Society's website (Click here).

Pharmacists who identify counterfeit Zyprexa in their stock should contact the manufacturers, Eli Lilly, who are co-ordinating the recovery of the counterfeit on behalf of the MHRA. Pharmacists are advised against contacting the original supplier of the product or attempting to return it to them.

The counterfeit Zyprexa was supplied by in French livery through a parallel import, and evidence shows that it has been distributed within the legitimate UK supply chain and has reached patients. Both genuine Eli Lilly manufactured product and counterfeit product with these batch numbers may be present in the UK supply chain.

If a pharmacist is in receipt of these counterfeits they are advised to contact any patients they have supplied the medicine to. Any pharmacist who has concerns about the authenticity of any other medicines that they hold in stock are advised to contact either their local Society inspector or the MHRA for guidance and advice.

Pharmacists are asked to note the following:

1. - Lilly routinely supply the UK market with stock that is not a parallel import and this stock is not affected.
2. - Parallel distribution companies sometimes add a pre-fix or suffix to the batch numbers to differentiate between them. These batch number variants are included in the scope of the recall.
3. - Parallel distribution companies may use a completely different batch number on the carton. If the batch number is not of the format 'AXXXXXX or AXXXXXX/X then pharmacists are advised to contact the parallel distributor listed on the carton to clarify the correct batch number.

David Pruce, Director of Practice and Quality Improvement at the RPSGB, said:

"Counterfeiting in the UK is a rare occurrence but nevertheless a world-wide problem. The Society has been working with the MHRA through our team of inspectors and we ask pharmacists to cooperate with the MHRA's investigation and to be alert for counterfeit medicines."

The MHRA drug alert and question and answer document can be found on the MHRA website (www.mhra.gov.uk).

www.rpsgb.org.uk

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