The manufacturers of Valium have issued a nationwide recall after packages of the anti-anxiety medication were tampered with and tablets swapped for paracetamol with codeine, stomach ulcer and cholesterol medications.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration issued the recall notice for all 5mg tablets in 50-tablet blister packs manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Roche, which distributes an estimated 30,000 packets a month of the drug.
Roche notified the TGA after it found evidence of tampering.
The administration warned of “serious health consequences” for patients overdosing on incorrect medicine or from interference with other treatments.
The TGA issued a notice online on 26 May. The Department of Health has not issued a media release.
A spokesman for the Consumers Health Forum, Mark Metherell, told the ABC the recall was “disturbingly” low profile.
“While according to the TGA there’s not a huge number of blister packs involved, nonetheless the way it’s been handled has been a bit low-profile than probably many in the community would expect,” he said.
The TGA has said the affected packets could contain paracetamol codeine tablets, the cholesterol medication Rosuvastatin, and the stomach ulcer medication Apotex-Pantoprazole, which lowers the amount of stomach acid a person produces.
New South Wales police confirmed they were investigating the theft “of a quantity of Valium over a period of time, from a business premises at Rydalmere”, but had not yet charged anyone.
The TGA has said it does not believe the tampering to be widespread.
A spokesman for Roche said it was “confident the tampering occurred after the Valium stock was shipped from the Roche warehouse in Australia”.
Valium is a brand-name version of the chemical compound diazepam, which is used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, alcohol withdrawal and insomnia.
The TGA has advised users of Valium to return their medication to pharmacies for a refund or replacement. It also warned consumers to pay attention to discrepancies in their medication and note that all tablets or capsules should be identical.
It said generic medicines containing diazepam could be substituted for Valium. “There are a number of generic diazepam products that are bioequivalent to Valium,” the TGA said.
“They contain the same active ingredient and work in the same way, and in most situations can be safely substituted for any returned Valium.”
.jpg?w=600)
