| Home
|
Meds to counteract allergies are scarce Posted 6-8-98 A recall of 1 million pen-size devices that help counteract serious allergic reactions has resulted in a worldwide shortage that could last several months. The auto-injector devices, EpiPen and EpiPen Jr., are patented and produced only by Meridian Medical Technologies Inc. of Columbia, Md. The devices deliver epinephrine rapidly into the blood streams of people having potentially fatal allergic reactions to foods such as nuts or shellfish or to bee stings. The voluntary recall, initiated last month, includes nearly 80 percent of the injectors made at Meridian’s St. Louis plant over the last year. A production problem caused the epinephrine in some units to lose potency, said James Miller, Meridian’s president and CEO. Many people who experience severe allergic reactions or whose children suffer from potentially life-threatening reactions have several auto-injectors on hand at work, at home, and in the car. For now, they are being advised to make do with only one of the devices. "We’re asking patients to limit themselves to the exchange of one EpiPen for now," said Anne Munoz Furlong, founder and president of the Food Allergy Network. "That way everyone who needs the protection of EpiPen will have it." People should return the recalled devices to where they were purchased for free replacements. The Food and Drug Administration is advising patients who cannot get a replacement to consult their physicians. The voluntary recall included 47 lots that were manufactured between July 1997 and April 1998 and distributed in the United States, Germany, Denmark, Israel, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Greece, and South Africa. For more information, call the EpiPen
and EpiPen Jr. hotline, (800) 240-5788. Related Sites |
|