Johnson and Johnson has voluntarily recalled schizophrenia drug Risperdal Consta after discovering mold during a routine testing process.
Johnson and Johnson is popularly recognized for its high quality products, especially its Johnson Baby line of products. However, a string of recalls in the last two years have led experts to question the quality of all the company's products.
The most recent recall has been that of a schizophrenia drug Risperdal Consta after discovering mold during a routine testing process. This makes it the second recall in a span of approximately two weeks for the company. A single lot of Risperdal Consta consists about 70,000 dosage packs. The drug has been recalled from wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies and healthcare providers.
Risperdal Consta is used to treat patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Unlike J&J's Risperdal anti-psychotic medication, which is available in the form of a bill, Risperdal Consta is used in injections.
"We estimate that fewer than 5,000 dose packs remain in the market considering our current inventory levels and the usage of this product," spokeswoman Robyn Reed Frenze, said in an email to Reuters.
Frenze clarified that risk to patients is considered low, and "there have been no trends of adverse events of infection associated with this lot".
Last week, Johnson & Johnson recalled 200,000 bottles of liquid Motrin for infants because of fears that some bottles carried tiny particles of plastic. The company has recalled everything from Tylenol to contact lenses and artificial hips in recent years, and is operating under a consent decree with the Food and Drug Administration in which it has promised to overhaul production at three manufacturing plants. One plant, in Fort Washington, Pa., has been closed since 2010.
