Sandoz injectable products are pictured at a pharmacy Thursday, March 8, 2012 in Quebec City. Sandoz Canada is recalling a type of injectable morphine after another drug was found to have been packed with it.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
Sandoz Canada is recalling a type of injectable morphine after another drug was found to have been packed with it.
The Quebec pharmaceutical company said that the majority of the lot had not been released and that no adverse reactions had been reported.
"Sandoz has launched an internal investigation in order to determine the root cause of the incident," the company said in a statement Friday. "Sandoz is working closely with Health Canada to minimize the impact on product availability in light of the current market situation."
Health Canada said earlier this week that vials of a powerful heart drug had been in the package with vials of injectable morphine. The heart drugs, which were properly labelled, could have posed a serious threat to patients, said the government agency, which warned hospitals across the country late Wednesday to "quarantine" this batch of morphine.
On Friday, Sandoz Canada said that they were initiating a "voluntary, precautionary recall" of a single lot of Morphine Sulfate Injection USP 2 mg/mL, 1 mL ampoules, which had been on the market since March 2.
The company said that they and Health Canada had agreed to a visual re-inspection of all quarantined product prior to their being released again.
"All visually inspected product will be clearly marked with a sticker and supplied to the market as quickly as possible," the company said. "Patients should consult their health-care professional in the event of any concern."
Sandoz had shipped 57,000 vials of the morphine product to hospitals, pharmacies and long-term care facilities across the country, said Steve Outhouse, spokesman for federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq. Another 103,000 vials are in its warehouse.
With a report from Canadian Press
Oliver Moore