Bristol Meyers-Squibb Recalls Lot of Blood-Thinner Coumadin

Bristol-Myers Squibb is voluntarily recalling one lot—or over 1.8 million tablets— of the blood-thinner Coumadin, also known as warfarin. Routine tests suggested the pills might be overly potent.

The affected bottles each have 1,000 tablets of 5-milligram Coumadin Crystalline (warfarin sodium), according to a company representative. They were distributed to pharmacies for further distribution to patients.

Coumadin is prescribed to treat or prevent blood clots, meaning that a decrease in the active ingredient could increase the risk of blood clots. Too much of the active ingredient could lead to an increased risk of bleeding. Patients who may have 5 mg tablets should not interrupt their therapy but should seek advice from their pharmacist to see if they have tablets originating from the affected lot and if so, should consult their physician for appropriate medical advice.

Report any adverse reactions to Coumadin to the FDA’s Medwatch program by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch website at www.fda.gov.

The expiration date on the bottles is Sept. 30, 2012, and the lot number is 9H49374A.

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