MHRA issue “Class 4” drug alert warning for Focus Pharmaceuticals after barcode errors found on 8 medicinal products

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued a Class 4 (caution in use) warning over eight Focus Pharmaceutical medicinal products after a problem was found with the barcodes.

The packaging fault may interfere with prescriptions as the wrong product may be identified when they’re scanned.

The medicines themselves have no reported faults and the rest of the packaging including the name, strength and pharmaceutical form of the medicine is correct as far as the manufacturer and the MHRA are aware.

The drug alert affects all those in the chain from the manufacturer, supplier to the distributor. Anyone processing the drug by use of a robotic or automated dispensing system is requested to manually sort the packets instead.

Packaging errors that don’t affect the product itself like this may seem insignificant but there is still a potential risk of damage. Medicines are, after all, drugs. For it to have medicinal properties in treating ailments, it needs to be carefully measured and administered. Simple errors like not being able to find the right drug could create a much bigger problem down the line.

If automated systems can#t ‘find’ the required medicine, the patient may not be able to get the treatment they need. One of the affected medicines is Pregabiln; a drug used to control seizures, treat nerve pain and to treat fibromyalgia. With the required drug ‘unavailable’, an alternative may be used. However, an alternative may not have the same effects or the same side-effects, and this issue could make it more risky for a patient.

The MHRA last updated its guidelines on medicines packaging in April 2016, noting the importance of accuracy so that prescription and supply of medicines are effective and efficient.

Generally speaking, there appears to be an increase in pharmaceutical products being recalled, according to Alexander Gaffney. Any carelessness that affects the quality of the drug or its packaging can have devastating consequences as vulnerable and ill people rely on them.

Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/barcode-bar-code-strip-code-code-3616/