Anti-psychotic drugs discovered in Nurofen Plus packets

The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) yesterday began recalling all packs of Nurofen Plus tablets from Irish wholesalers for checking after some were sabotaged in the UK.

Five packets found in Britain and Northern Ireland were found to contain an anti-psychotic drug after being tampered with.

The IMB said it was taking the move as a precautionary measure. Pharmacists were asked to check all packs of Nurofen Plus on their premises before selling them.
The IMB said all unaffected packs may be sold to the public.

It said it had been closely monitoring the discovery on the UK market of packs of Nurofen Plus Tablets containing rogue blister strips of either Seroquel XL 50mg Tablets or Neurontin 100mg capsules.

"While the UK-implicated pack size of Nurofen Plus of 32 tablets is not available for sale on the Irish market, and there is no evidence at this time that packs of Nurofen Plus in Ireland are affected, the IMB, as a precautionary measure, has initiated a recall of all packs from Irish wholesalers for checking," it said. It added that the move had been done in consultation with Reckitt Benckiser, the owner of Nurofen Plus.

So far, five packs of 32-tablet size Nurofen Plus containing rogue blisters have been identified in the UK and Northern Ireland.
"While there have been no serious health consequences to any consumer in the UK, sabotage of the product is suspected and Reckitt Benckiser UK is working with the UK police on a formal investigation into the issue," the IMB said.
It advised people who might have recently purchased the product to check their packs of Nurofen Plus to make sure that they contained Nurofen Plus blister strips and a Nurofen Plus Patient Information leaflet.
"Any patients who have any concerns or in the unlikely event that they find a rogue blister strip or leaflet, should contact their pharmacist."
Distribution of Nurofen Plus has been halted in the UK and in Ireland.
Pharmacists were asked to immediately quarantine all packs of Nurofen Plus Tablets that are in their pharmacies and to open and check those packs for the presence of any rogue blister strips.
Pharmacists should also check that the patient information leaflet in each pack is for Nurofen Plus Tablets and not for another product, the IMB said.

- Don Lavery (Irish Independent)