Pfizer has expanded the Lipitor recall due to reports of a “musty odor.” (Photo Credit: CC BY-SA/Panthro/Wikipedia)

ABC News reports that Pfizer, the drug manufacturer that makes the cholesterol-lowering pill Lipitor, has expanded the recent Lipitor recall. An unspecified lot of 19,000 bottles of 40 mg Lipitor pills has been recalled due to reports of a “musty odor.” This Lipitor recall expansion brings the total number of Lipitor bottles pulled from the shelves to 360,000.

Latest Lipitor recall linked to wood preservative

As if consumers needed another reason to feel less than confident about the pills they’re popping, the latest chapter in the Lipitor recall may point toward wood preservative. Experts state that the chemical in Lipitor called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA), which was a culprit in the original Lipitor recall earlier this year, has something to do with the musty odor. While the FDA claims that TBA in low amounts has only the “minimal” negative health effect of causing gastrointestinal distress, it has been revealed that there are links between TBA and another chemical called TBP, which is used to preserve the wood in shipping pallets. However, Pfizer insists that it prohibits its shippers from using TBP-treated pallets, and that U.S. pallet makers are legally forbidden from using the preservative.

Old Lipitor recall may not be in hand yet

The original Lipitor recall conducted by Pfizer began in August, and it was related to bottles provided by a specific supplier. However, Pfizer has admitted that some of the bad Lipitor bottles issued prior to the recall “may still be on the market,” which could make it necessary for the company to conduct even more recalls.

In potentially related news, Pfizer’s CEO stepped down earlier this month. In addition to the ongoing Lipitor recall, a massive Tylenol recall – which was also connected to disturbing odors – has the management group at Pfizer parent company Johnson & Johnson embroiled in an organizational shakeup.

Sources:

ABC News

Financial News Online coverage of Lipitor recall

The EpiPen is one of many King Pharmaceuticals products Pfizer will be gaining ownership of. By Intropin / CC-BY-3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

In the latest pharmaceutical merger this year, King Pharmaceuticals will be bought out by Pfizer. Worth $3.6 billion, this deal is the second-largest merger purchase ever by Pfizer. Pfizer is merging with King to try to fight off the loss of income that happens when patents expire.

King Pharmaceuticals worth a premium

When Pfizer announced that it would be purchasing King Pharmaceuticals, the price announced was 40 percent over King’s current stock price. In Monday trading, the price of King jumped to almost match the offer price. Either way, however, Pfizer obviously sees value in King Pharma, which manufactures mostly pain medication. The entire portfolio of King Pharmaceuticals drugs will be rolled into Pfizer’s manufacturing and marketing divisions.

Expanding the Pfizer portfolio

King Pharmaceuticals is a drug maker that specializes in pain medication. King has been long developing “abuse-resistant” pain medication intended to replace drugs such as OxyContin. King Pharmaceuticals also develops and sells veterinary drugs and the EpiPen. King Pharmaceuticals also has a contract with the Department of Defense to provide pre-filled syringes of anti-nerve agent medications. These contracts will be merged at the same time Pfizer and King merge their operations.

Pfzier and King trying to avoid patent cliff

There has been a spate of pharmaceutical mergers and buyouts in recent years. Through buyouts, Pfzier has become the largest drugmaker and seller in the world. Pfzier, as well as King Pharmaceuticals, faces a serious income problem in what the industry refers to as the “patent cliff.” Most drugs, when they first are approved and reach market, are protected by patents. However, when that patent expires, less expensive generics of the drugs are manufactured. Pfzier’s best-selling drug, Lipitor, faces a 60 percent drop in its several-hundred million dollar a year sales when it falls off the patent cliff. The hope is that the purchase of King Pharmaceuticals and its drug portfolio will help make up for this loss of income.

Sources

Associated Press
New York Times