A Johnson & Johnson company is recalling lots of the antipsychotic Risperdal and its generic equivalent due to an odor that may come from a chemical preservative used in wood shipping pallets, the latest in a long series of recalls for the drugmaker.
Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday the lot of about 16,000 bottles of 3-milligram Risperdal tablets was shipped between last August and February. About 1,600 bottles remain in the marketplace.
The company also recalled a lot of about 24,000 bottles of 2-milligram generic risperidone tablets that was shipped between last November and January 1. It believes fewer than 1,200 bottles of that lot remain on the market.
The company started the recall in the United States and Puerto Rico. The smell comes from a byproduct of the chemical TBA, or tribromoanisole.
Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, which is based in Titusville, N.J., said patients should not stop taking the drugs. Those who smell an uncharacteristic odor should return the tablets to their pharmacist and talk to a healthcare professional if they have questions.
Risperdal and risperidone treat schizophrenia in adults and adolescents and can be used as part of a short-term treatment for bipolar mania.
J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., has announced about two dozen recalls since September 2009, involving well over 300 million bottles of nonprescription medicines, plus some prescription drugs, contact lenses and hip replacements. The reasons have ranged from nauseating odors and incorrect levels of active ingredient to contaminants in medicines and uncomfortable hip replacements requiring repeat surgery.
Last month, it recalled four lots of its HIV medicine Prezista in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom after an investigation into complaints of an odd odor concluded it probably came from TBA.
The chemical has been blamed for numerous recalls by Johnson & Johnson and a couple of other drugmakers over more than a year. J&J said it started taking steps in January 2010 to get suppliers to stop using pallets with chemically treated wood, and it's working with other drugmakers to determine how the chemical is getting into the supply chain.
Shares of J&J fell 3 cents to $66.29 in trading Friday, while broader indexes rose less than 1 percent.