Tulsa World: U.S. shortage of blood pressure drug affects Tulsans

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U.S. shortage of blood pressure drug affects Tulsans

By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Published: 1/31/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 1/31/2009 2:38 AM

When 54-year-old Jeanette Davis went to her pharmacy recently to refill her blood pressure medication, she was handed a bottle of only five tablets.

"It's crazy. I needed a refill for the month. I need it every day," she said.

She was told the warehouse hadn't shipped new supplies of the generic version of Toprol XL she needed. But she wasn't told why.

"Seven days went by, and I took a pill every other day," Davis said. She was prescribed the drug because of high blood pressure and artery blockages.

"My dad died at 46 of a massive heart attack. I didn't want to die that young," she said.

Davis is one of countless Tulsans and others across the country who have been affected by a shortage of the popular medication used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease.

London-based manufacturer Astra Zeneca says it is ramping up production to keep up with new demand.

"We're working hard to fire up production again," Blair Hains said by telephone from his Wilmington, Del., office. "We see things resolving incrementally."

Quality concerns have forced two drug manufacturers that produce generic versions of Astra Zeneca's Toprol XL to suspend production or to initiate nationwide recalls of the drug, he said.

So wholesalers

aren't getting their normal supplies of the drug, Hains said.

On Monday, St. Louis-based KV Pharmaceuticals announced it was suspending the manufacturing and shipping of all its products, including prescription metoprolol succinate tablets, amid concerns they may contain excess doses of the active ingredient. It was only the latest of several recalls announced by the company.

And Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, owned by Novartis, initiated a nationwide recall of more than 6 million bottles of the generic version of the drug because of quality control problems at its North Carolina manufacturing facility, according to a December U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement report.

"We are taking a couple of different steps. We're increasing production in Sweden. And we are supplying Par," Hains said.

Par Pharmaceuticals, based in New Jersey, distributes the authorized generic version of Toprol XL. The product it distributes is manufactured by Astra Zeneca and is exactly the same as that distributed under the brand name, he said.

"We're shipping and packaging as fast as we can," Hains said.

Mark Mills, a clinical pharmacist at St. John Medical Center, said drug shortages have become more common in recent years.

"The FDA has really been cracking down in the last three to five years. They want products to be safe," Mills said. "But it puts pressure on other manufacturers to pick up the slack."

In the interim, there are some other medications that can be prescribed temporarily, he said. Patients should consult with their physician or pharmacist to find the one that is right for them, Mills said.

Astra Zeneca's Hains said the company has begun order management procedures so some wholesalers don't get three-month supplies of the drug while others have none.

"We understand there may be some short-term issues. We're trying to parcel out our supplies (to wholesalers) in an equitable manner," he said.

Kim Archer 581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment paleface, Ponca City (1/31/2009 9:28:33 AM) Dam what next..... If it is not one thing it is another anything to make life hard to deal with...Keep's us busy and and one our toes...
	Report Comment Reaching for the StAr'S*, In my own world (1/31/2009 2:00:10 PM) No peanut butter,No blood persure meds,No jobs,No money, Whats next?????????
	Report Comment DeltaDon, (1/31/2009 2:34:33 PM) Folks, it's so easy to reduce blood pressure and get off the pills. Just walk briskly 3 days a week for 30 minutes. Eat 5 to 10 fresh or frozen fruits and veggies a day, drop the beef and eat chicken or fish, baked or broiled. Make your own salad dressing with 2 Tbs. of mustard, 2 Tbs of vinegar and 6 Tbs. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper to taste. Stop eating SUGAR. It's a killer and leads to inflamation which is a big cause of most of our modern illness today. Read the book "Stop Inflamation Now" by Dr. Richard Flemming. In 30-45 days, you'll not need blood pressure meds or cholesterol meds.
	Report Comment Tony G, Tulsa (1/31/2009 9:39:44 PM) I have to agree with Delta Don. Most of it is our own fault. If your more than 10 lbs heavier, than you were in high school--walk more--eat less. Or--ride around with me on a work day--I'll get your old heart to pumping, we can clean 18 pools and give my little wifey the day off :-)
	Report Comment oldrustytulsa, Tulsa (2/1/2009 8:14:23 AM) A good high fiber diet, with a dose of mona-vie,and lots of green tea, will keep the doctor away.
	Report Comment Nunya, (2/1/2009 12:49:16 PM) get out and walk
	Report Comment Carlos, Tulsa (2/1/2009 1:11:59 PM) Sooooooo....use Atenolol until they get more Toprol. Problem solved!
	Report Comment cobweb, (2/1/2009 1:31:20 PM) Carlos is right. Several beta blockers can be substituted. Atenolol works as well and is a lot cheaper. The story reads like somebody will die. Silly stuff by an ignorant writer.
	Report Comment Serenity, Tulsa (2/2/2009 10:52:22 AM) Yes, the drug can be substituted, diet and exercise won't be enough for some persons with high blood presure. If is genetic, only drugs will control it.
	Report Comment Aggie, (2/5/2009 9:41:04 PM) When government takes over all of health care, then everything will be rationed. Be prepared to wait for drugs and treatment and to be denied what the government deems to be too expensive to provide.

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