The Wall Street Journal says that Matrixx, the manufacturer of the allegedly smell-destroying cold remedy Zicam, is defending their product, but also admits that they didn’t share 800 reports of smell loss with the FDA. Despite this, they described the FDA’s warning about Zicam as a “complete surprise.”

From the WSJ:

“We are hopeful that if we can tell our story to the FDA, that maybe we can get them to change their mind,” Matrixx Acting President and Chief Operating Officer William Hemelt said. He claimed that the safety concerns are “erroneous” and said that the agency made no effort to communicate its concerns with the company prior to this week.

The product has apparently been the target of many consumer lawsuits.

“Plaintiffs will still have to prove that Zicam cold remedy caused their loss of smell,” Hemelt told the WSJ. The company settled 300 smell-related lawsuits in 2006, but the company president maintained that studies show that Zicam doesn’t reach the area of the nose responsible for smell. He then admitted that the company didn’t share 800 reports of smell loss with the FDA.

Hemelt said the company didn’t believe it was required to share the information and acted on the advice of company lawyers.

UPDATE: Matrixx Defends Zicam Pdts Included In FDA Warning [WSJ]

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