WASHINGTON

FDA warns about mix-up between two medications

The Food and Drug Administration is warning patients about a potential mix-up between powerful prescription pain drugs and common over-the-counter medications made at a Novartis manufacturing plant.

The issue stems from manufacturing problems at a Lincoln, Neb., facility which triggered a recall Sunday of 1,645 lots of Novartis’ over-the-counter drugs, including Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz and Gas-X.

The company has received hundreds of complaints of broken and chipped pills and inconsistent bottle packaging that could cause pills to be mixed up. Consumers are advised to stop using the products and contact the company for a refund.

FDA officials warned Monday that some of Novartis’ over-the-counter pills may have accidentally been packaged with powerful prescription painkillers made at the same facility. The opioid drugs are sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals as Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone.

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Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc., of Chadds Ford, Pa., said it is not aware of any confirmed product mix-ups that reached patients or caused any injuries. A spokeswoman for Novartis said Monday that only Gas-X is produced on the same manufacturing line as the opioid drugs.

Patients can call Endo Pharmaceuticals’ call center at 1-800-462-3636.

President’s chief of staff quitting and heading home

President Obama announced Monday that chief of staff William Daley was quitting and heading home, capping a short and rocky tenure that had been expected to last until Election Day. Obama budget chief Jack Lew, a figure long familiar with Washington’s ways, will take over one of the most consuming jobs in America.

Daley’s run as Obama’s chief manager and gatekeeper lasted only a year. It was filled with consequential moments for the White House, such as the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, but also stumbles with Congress and grumbles that Daley was not the right choice to coordinate an intense operation of ideas, offices and egos.

Senior adviser Pete Rouse had already taken on more of the day-to-day management.

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Statins may increase chance of getting Type 2 diabetes

A new side effect seems to be emerging for those cholesterol-lowering wonder drugs called statins: They may increase some people’s chances of developing Type 2 diabetes.

A study published Monday adds to the evidence, finding a modest risk among older women who used a variety of statins.

It’s a puzzling link, and specialists say people who most need statins because of a high risk for a heart attack should stick with the drugs.

But more and more doctors are urging otherwise healthy people to use the pills as a way to prevent heart disease. For them, the findings add another potential complication as they consider whether to tackle their cholesterol with diet and exercise alone or add a medication.

Statins are one of the most widely prescribed drugs, and among the most touted with good reason.

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They can dramatically lower so-called “bad” LDL cholesterol. Studies make clear that they save lives when used by people who already have heart disease.

Obama administration bans mining near Grand Canyon

The Obama administration is banning new hard rock mining on more than a million acres near the Grand Canyon, an area known to be rich in high-grade uranium ore reserves.

The decision, announced Monday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, hands a victory to environmental groups and some Democratic lawmakers who had worked for years to limit mining near the national park, one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations.

Congressional Republicans and industry groups opposed it, arguing that Salazar was eliminating hundreds of jobs and depriving the country of a critically important energy source.

The area near the Grand Canyon contains as much as 40 percent of the nation’s known uranium resources, worth tens of billions of dollars.

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Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the ban a “devastating blow to job creation in northern Arizona.”

LINCOLN, Neb.

Nebraska didn’t buy stolen execution drug, AG says

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning produced documents Monday that he said contradicted claims that state officials had been conned into buying stolen doses of an execution drug.

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services announced in November that it had obtained sodium thiopental, one of three drugs needed to carry out executions by lethal injection, from Swiss company Naari AG.

The state plans to use the drug to execute Michael Ryan for a 1985 slaying. But Ryan’s attorney claims the doses Nebraska recently bought were supposed to be used only for “test and evaluation” as an anesthetic in Zambia and not sold.

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Bruning said the documents, emails and financial statements released Monday show the Indian drug broker, Harris Pharma LLP, bought the drug from Swiss manufacturer Naari and then sold doses to Nebraska.

Naari’s chief executive, Prithi Kochhar, previously sent Bruning a letter saying the doses were free samples provided for tests in Zambia and “wrongfully diverted.” Kochhar said Naari would never support use of the drug in executions.

Messages for Naari’s spokesman weren’t returned Monday. A spokesman for Harris Pharma’s office in Steuben, Maine, declined to comment and referred calls to chief executive Chris Harris in India. Calls and emails to Harris were not immediately returned.

DETROIT

GM on track to recapture top-selling automaker title

General Motors Co. is on track to retake the title of world’s top-selling automaker, riding strong sales in the United States and China to beat Volkswagen and Toyota.

GM, which lost the crown to Toyota in 2008 after holding it for more than seven decades, won’t release global sales numbers until later this month, but it’s on pace to finish 2011 at around 9 million cars and trucks, at least 800,000 more than its German and Japanese rivals.

Winning the global sales crown doesn’t mean much to a company’s bottom line, but for GM, it’s an example of just how far the company has come since it nearly collapsed in financial ruin in 2009. That year, the company sold only 7.5 million vehicles.

GM executives have consistently said they’re more focused on making money than outselling Toyota or Volkswagen.
 


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