Warning over stolen generic albuterol

The authorities in the USA have warned patients and healthcare professionals to be on the lookout for cartons of asthma medications that were stolen from a tractor-trailer on August 5.

The thieves made away with nearly 36,000 cartons of the albuterol sulfate inhalation solution, originally manufactured by generic drugmaker Dey, in the raid which took place in McKinney, Texas.

The shipment belonged to contract pharmaceutical packager RiteDose Corp, according to a notice issued by the Partnership for Safe Medicines’ SafeMeds Alert service, which notes the product could represent a health risk because the required temperature-controlled supply chain may have been broken.

The product is Albuterol Sulfate Inhalation Solution 0.083%, with the National Drug Code (NDC) number 49502-697-29. Each carton displays the brand name "DEY" and contains thirty 3ml single-dose vials. The lot numbers of the stolen product were "9G01" and "9FE2." 

The SafeMeds notice says that the two lots were not commercialised prior to the theft, and all the product units in these lots were stolen. 

Additional details are available here.


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