Nurofen Plus recalled as drug manufacturer suspects sabotage
Reckitt Benckiser recalls about 250,000 packs of painkiller amid police investigation
About 250,000 packs of Nurofen Plus are being recalled amid a police investigation into suspected sabotage when the wrong drug was found in some packs.
A spokesman for Reckitt Benckiser (UK) Ltd, manufacturer of the Nurofen painkiller, said there had been five reported cases of other manufacturers' medicines discovered in boxes of Nurofen Plus.
The alert was raised after the anti-psychotic prescription drug Seroquel XL, made by another manufacturer, AstraZeneca UK, was found in packs that should have contained painkillers. The drug is used to treat disorders including schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression.
Neurontin, an epilepsy drug made by a third company, Pfizer, was also been found in another batch.
"Sabotage is suspected and we are working with the police on a formal investigation to find the person or persons responsible," he said. "Distribution of Nurofen Plus has been halted at this time."
Dr Aomesh Bhatt, medical director for Nurofen Plus, said the company had decided to recall all packs of Nurofen Plus "as the most prudent course of action in the current circumstances. We're asking consumers to return any packs of Nurofen Plus to a pharmacy. No other Nurofen products are affected or being recalled."
Reckitt Benckiser said an estimated 250,000 packets are believed to be have been bought by customers and while there had so far been "no serious health consequences to any consumer", it did not want to risk the quality and safety of its products and was recalling all of them.
It said the decision had been taken in full consultation with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as a precautionary measure and that anyone who had bought an affected pack would be entitled to a refund. Pharmacists were also being told to return stock to their wholesaler where it could be collected by the company.
Professor David Nutt, from Im! perial C ollege, said any effect of taking the drug would depend on the dose and singled out those on antihistamines and sedatives to be particularly careful.
"The only likely impact of a single ingestion would be sedation, but in people taking antihistamines and other sedatives the added effects could be quite extreme," he said.
Nurofen Plus's manufacturers began to suspect sabotage after ruling out a factory mix-up as the drugs were made by other manufacturers and in different factories.
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