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Mylan’s Life-Threatening Labeling Error

Patients with urinary issues are mistakenly taking blood pressure-lowering medication due to a potentially lethal drug swap mix-up.

Mylan Recall / Photo: timeslive.co
Mylan Recall / Photo: timeslive.co

A recent Times Live article covered a prescription blunder that has led to a 60,000-bottle recall of the generic drug, mainly in the Western Cape of South Africa. The error is classified as a Class 1, Type A recall, the highest Medicines Control Council (MCC) can impose. However, the only public notice so far has been an inconspicuously placed ad in a Cape Town newspaper, without the “urgent medicine recall” header required by the MCC.

The mix-up was discovered when a pharmacist encountered a bottle of Mylan Oxybutynin 5mg 100’s tablets actually contained Indapamide. The former is used to treat urinary urgency and incontinence, while the latter is for sufferers of hypertension.