Popular Anti-Anxiety Drug Xanax, Recalled

The popular anti-anxiety prescription drug Xanax is being recalled over the “potential presence” of a “foreign substance,” according to a statement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

One lot of alprazolam, brand name Xanax, is being recalled by Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. due to potential contamination that poses a risk of infection.

The recall is for lot number 8082708 of alprazolam tablets, USP C-IV 0.5 mg packaged in bottles of 500, with an expiry date of September 2020. They were distributed in the United States between July 2019 and August 2019.

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This recall comes on the heels of drugmakers’ recent voluntary recall of the stomach acid-blocking medication Zantac after an investigation revealed that the medications may be contaminated with low levels of a cancer-causing chemical called NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine).

If your medication is part of the batch being recalled, do not continue to take it. Instead, Mylan recommends contacting Stericycle, a medical waste disposal company, at 1-888-843-0255, which will provide the documentation packet to return the product to Stericycle.

For more information, consumers can call Mylan at 1-800-796-9526. Anyone who’s experienced any problems that may be related to using the recalled medication should contact their physician or healthcare provider.

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“Consumers should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any problems that may be related to using this drug product,” said the FDA in a statement. They can also report it to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.

According to an FDA statement on the Xanax recall, the risk of…

… becoming ill from the contaminated medication is unlikely. “Clinical impact from the foreign material, if present, is expected to be rare,” the statement said, “but the remote risk of infection to a patient cannot be ruled out. To date, Mylan has not received any adverse events related to this batch.”