On behalf of Weisman, Kennedy & Berris Co., L.P.A. posted in Products Liability on Thursday, April 3, 2014.

The United States Food and Drug Administration regulates pharmaceuticals for very obvious reasons.

Claims related to drugs need to be accurate to enable doctors to properly prescribe medications for patients and for consumers to make informed decisions about over-the-counter (OTC) offerings. Importantly, too, consumers must have a reasonable expectation of safety when they purchase pharmaceuticals; absent that, drugs can perversely become agents of harm rather than allies promoting better health.

Product tampering virtually ensures diminished public confidence in a prescription or OTC drug. Drug manufacturers are occasionally made painfully aware of this fact, as is the case with global pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline and a problem it is currently having with its OTC weight-loss drug Alli.

The British-based drug manufacturer harbored extremely high hopes for Alli when it began selling the drug (made in both pill and tablet form) in the United States in 2007. Company sales estimates were never realized, though, and Alli’s future is now further clouded by reports that consumers in several states have found mismatched tablets and capsules inside Alli bottles. Additionally, there have been reports of missing labels and tamper-proof seals that might not be genuine.

Such developments have obviously raised red flags for federal regulators and prompted drug product liability concerns for GSK officials.

As a result of the recent reports, GSK has announced a recall of all Alli supplies currently on shelves in retail stores in Ohio and everywhere else across the country. The company states that its investigation “is ongoing” and that it does not yet have any clear idea as to how Alli bottles are being tampered with or what the source of the problem might be.

Defective products — including, centrally, pharmaceutical offerings — always pose a serious concern for American consumers. Any person with questions or concerns regarding a dangerous drug can secure prompt and knowledgeable assistance from a proven product liability attorney.

Source: Reuters, “GSK recalls weight-loss drug Alli in U.S. on tampering concerns,” Ben Hirschler, March 27, 2014

Tags: consumers, defective products, liability, medications