Nurofen Plus Is Recalled As Sabotage Is Suspected After Other Medicines Found In Packets | UK News | Sky News

9:51pm UK, Friday August 26, 2011

The makers of Nurofen Plus have recalled all of the tablets and confirmed sabotage is suspected after other medicines were found in some packets.

Five reported cases of other manufacturers' medicines have been discovered in boxes of the painkiller.

A spokesman for manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser (UK) Ltd said: "Sabotage is suspected and we are working with the police on a formal investigation to find the person or persons responsible.

"Distribution of Nurofen Plus has been halted at this time."

On Thursday a safety alert was issued after an anti-psychotic drug made by AstraZeneca called Seroquel XL 50mg was found in three packets of the painkiller.

They were bought in Victoria, Bromley and Beckenham, south London.

Two more packets were found on Friday - one contained Seroquel XL tablets and the other contained the Pfizer product, Neurontin 100mg capsules.

Neurontin is an anti-epileptic drug.

Even though there have been no serious health consequences to any consumer, we will not take any risk regarding the quality or safety of our products.

Reckitt Benckiser spokesman

Seroquel XL is a prescription-only drug used to treat several disorders including schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression.

People who accidentally take it may experience sleepiness and are advised not to drive or operate any tools or machinery until they know how the tablets have affected them.

Two people took one Seroquel XL tablet each but neither reported any ill effects.

Professor David Nutt, head of the department of neuropsychopharmacology and molecular imaging at Imperial College, said: "The effect of taking Seroquel entirely depends on the dose.

"The only likely impact of a single ingestion would be sedation, but in people taking antihistamines and other sedatives the added effects could be quite extreme."

The Reckitt Benckiser spokesman added: "The safety of our consumers is paramount.

"Even though there have been no serious health consequences to any consumer, we will not take any risk regarding the quality or safety of our products.

"This decision has been taken in full consultation with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as a precautionary measure."

Ian Holloway, of the MHRA's Defective Medicines Report Centre (DMRC), said: "People should check to see if they have any packets of Nurofen Plus.

"If you do, return them to your nearest pharmacy."

Nurofen's makers said they estimated there were 250,000 packets currently in customers' hands.

via news.sky.com