PSA: Global Ranitidine Recall

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  nfr on 10/10/2019 - 00:06

  +1

  Looks like it's not just GSK and not just Zantac. I guess these big pharmas outsource ranitidine production to the same company.

  • 

    trex on 10/10/2019 - 00:15

    Good point. According to the article from Guardian, the impurity is "believed to have been introduced by changes in the manufacturing process" which implies same company manufacturing it.

    • 

      vikvance on 10/10/2019 - 22:22

      The idea of saving costs by outsourcing medicine manufacturing to third-world countries, will eventually end in tears.

      Outsourcing is OK, if you have an item like a shirt, about which you tell just by visual inspection whether it's shoddy or well-made.

      It's not OK, for things like food and specially, medicine, where it's easy and profitable to cut corners, and there's no way to estimate the quality just by looking at it.

      • 

        trex on 10/10/2019 - 22:29

        Do you know for a fact where the contaminated Ranitidine came from or are you assuming that it is coming from a third world country?

        • 

          vikvance on 11/10/2019 - 08:42

          -1

          @trex: If it had been made in Australia, or any first world country, then it would have proudly said "Made in Australia" or "Made in USA" or "Made in Germany".

          It is made in some dodgy third world country (most likely India), and that is the sole reason why my pack of Rani 2 is totally silent on where it was made.

          I posted the link below, to a brand of Ranitidine, which is:
          a) Still available
          b) Proudly says "Made in Australia"

• 

  do minator on 10/10/2019 - 00:21

  +1

  I work in pharmacy and we recently just recalled all the brands of ranitidine we had on the shelves (dispensary and over the counter). I get that listing it on Gumtree is just tongue in cheek but for those people who are seriously concerned with taking their ranitidine or what to do because they can't get any, speak to your GP.

  Ranitidine is a H2 antagonist and there are other similar drugs on the market, in particular we use nizatidine (Tazac, Nizac, Tacidine) in Australia if you want something similar to ranitidine (Zantac) and don't want to use/cannot tolerate other reflux medications.

  • 

    thatonethere on 10/10/2019 - 06:20

    Can customers return it for a refund?

    • 

      c64 on 10/10/2019 - 07:09

      of course, it is a recall

      • 

        thatonethere on 10/10/2019 - 08:44

        I don't see the words "return" or "refund" in the TGA announcement? From what I see us consumers are told to throw it away and suck it up?

        • 

          c64 on 10/10/2019 - 19:23

          +1

          @thatonethere: you are right, http://apps.tga.gov.au/PROD/SARA/arn-entry.aspx states it is a retail recall at the moment. so stay tuned for further developments i suppose.

  • 

    Punkboy on 28/09/2020 - 11:36

    Hey - hoping you might be able to help here. It seems nigh impossible to get these nizatidine drugs right now and my mum really relies on them and is down to a weeks supply. She can't tolerate PPIs and needs nizatidine based drugs, are there alternatives or ways to find them? All her locals are out and it seems a common story as I'm hearing same from my chemists in a totally different area.

    • 

      do minator on 28/09/2020 - 12:38

      Hey, sorry to hear about your mum's situation. Unfortunately, there's no other available H2 antagonist (all the "-tidines") available currently as everyone who was previously on ranitidine got swapped to nizatidine or famotidine which used up all the supply. Usually, when there is a shortage, the manufacturers will alert the TGA and that information can be found here:

      https://apps.tga.gov.au/Prod/msi/Search/Details/nizatidine
      https://apps.tga.gov.au/Prod/msi/Search/Details/ranitidine-h…

      As you can see, there are dates there but generally, they are dates the manufacturer expects stock to be available at the time of notification and may not truly represent when there would be stable supply.

      Is there a particular PPI your mum is intolerant to? Depending on the type of reaction e.g. skin rash, she may be able to try another PPI as there's quite a few out there and other than that, there's only really antacids e.g. Gaviscon, Mylanta etc.

      • 

        Punkboy on 28/09/2020 - 22:36

        She tried Nexium, mostly in desperation at not being able to get H2 antagonists and thinking something may have changed for her since the last 2-3years she stopped using PPIs. I'm not sure what the other PPIs were because they were some time ago.

        I called AlphaPharm today and they think they will be able to supply 200mg next week. The rep reckons that because the date is so close its unlikely to change this time, as it has changed several times already over the last 6 months. Anyway, she needs to get a new script for 300mg as she has been on 150. Hopefully the doctor thinks it will be ok.

• 

  vikvance on 10/10/2019 - 00:52

  The (Australian-made) Chemists' Own brand seems to still be available:

  https://www.pharmacyonline.com.au/chemists-own-ranitidine-ta…