Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Dec 23, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Cholesterol drug Lipitor received another setback earlier this week when more bottles of the drug was recalled by Pfizer Inc. after a number of consumers complained that they had found a foul smell. The new recall brings under its purview an additional 19,000 bottles of 40 mg of Lipitor pills, which takes the total number of bottles of the cholesterol drug affected by the recall to 360,000. The extension in the recall that was announced on Tuesday marks the fourth such recall affecting the drug this year.

A statement that has been released the drug developer Pfizer Inc. hinted that the main reason for the characteristic odor found in the bottles of Lipitor is attributed to a chemical known as 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA), which imparts the musty odor to the bottles containing the cholesterol drug. The same chemical which is often used as a wood preservative, was responsible for triggering the recall of Lipitor earlier on. The statement issued by the drug developer further goes on to say that the company always binds to ‘rigorous quality and compliance program’ which takes into account sensitive surveillance system, a fact that has made it possible for Pfizer to detect and respond to the issue.

Despite the fact that owing to the successive recalls, as many as 360,000 bottles of Lipitor are off the market, the manufacturing company has emphasized that it would in no way result in shortage of the cholesterol drug. The recall of the product first came into the picture in the month of August, however, any official announcement the Pfizer Inc. was not made until October when the recall was extended.