191,000 Bottles Of Lipitor Recalled Because Of Musty Odor

Though Pfizer apparently initiated a recall of its popular cholesterol fighting drug Lipitor (aka Atorvastatin) in August, it only came to the public attention this week. Regardless, a total of 191,000 90-pill bottles of the drug have been recalled from pharmacies in the U.S. and Canada.

In its listing on the FDA website, it describes the reason for the recall as “Chemical Contamination: complaints of an uncharacteristic odor identified as 2, 4, 6 tribromoanisole.”

2, 4, 6-tribromoanisole was also one of the culprits in this summer’s recall of Tylenol products. It is a chemical that is produced when fungi break down a commonly used fungicide called 2,4,6-tribromophenol. In the Tylenol situation, it is believed that the contamination happened after the fungicide was used to treat wooden warehouse pallets.

But a rep for Pfizer says in a statement to CNN that the company “has been working closely with the bottle supplier to determine the cause of the odor problem and to rapidly address it.”

The company also says that its own “medical risk assessment based on all the information we have has determined that the odor issue is not likely to cause adverse health consequences for patients.”

Pfizer recalled 191,000 bottles of Lipitor for odor [CNN]

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