Teva Pharmaceuticals Pulling Zecuity Migraine Patch After Users Reported Burns, Scars

Having a migraine can bad enough, but getting literally burned by a product that’s supposed to help alleviate that pain makes it an even more painful experience. That’s why the makers of a patch called Zecuity, which is marketed for migraine relief, are yanking it from shelves, after users reported burns and scarring.

Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that it’s temporarily suspending sales, marketing, and distribution to investigate the cause of burns and scars associated with the Zecuity patch, the Food & Drug Administration announced.

Zecuitiy is a disposable, battery-powered patch that you can stick on your upper arm or thigh to get relief from migraines. It delivers medicine through the skin, skin which is becoming red, discolored, cracked, or painful to touch where the patch was applied for some users.

“Although many cases resolved within hours to weeks, there are reports of cases with unresolved skin reactions, typically skin discoloration, after several months,” Teva says in a letter to healthcare providers [PDF].

The company says it’s working with the FDA to examine adverse skin reactions connected to using Zecuity.

“At Teva, the wellbeing of people using our products is always the first priority. Given our deep commitment to patient safety, we will engage in a voluntary suspension of marketing while we continue our investigation into the root cause of these adverse skin reactions,” said Rob Koremans, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Specialty Medicines at Teva. “We will continue to work closely with the FDA to resolve any remaining questions.”

If you have any remaining patches, stop using them and contact your prescriber for an alternative migraine medicine. You can also call Migraine Support Solutions at 1-855-ZECUITY (1-855-932-8489) for information and instructions regarding the disposition of unused patches.

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