Drug maker Pfizer says it is recalling another 19,000 bottles of its Lipitor cholesterol medication following reports of musty odors from the bottles.
The company has already pulled 370,000 Lipitor bottles for reported odors in three recall lots beginning in August, FiercePharma.com reported Tuesday.
Consumers have complained of a musty or moldy odor in reports similar to those that led to repeated recalls of Johnson & Johnson consumer drugs.
Both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson say they ve traced to odor to a chemical used to preserve wooden shipping pallets.
Johnson & Johnson says they ve stopped using the pallets.
Pfizer has prohibited the use of the chemical in pallets used to ship their products, FiercePharma.com said.
The 19,000 bottles involved in the current recall were manufactured before measures against the chemical were taken, Pfizer said.
"We have identified the source of the odor, and we are enacting rigorous measures to prevent odor-related issues going forward," Pfizer said in a statement.
From UPI Science News (December 21, 2010) 