S.African drug company recalls AIDS treatment medicines

JOHANNESBURG (Thomson Financial) - A major pharmaceutical company in South Africa, a country which has the world's highest HIV rate, on Friday issued a recall of generic anti-retroviral drugs due to a packaging error. "Adco-Nevirapine tablets, with the batch number 1J, and expiry January 2009, and Adco-Zidovudine tablets, batch number 1Z and expiry date November 2008 should be returned without delay," the company said in a statement. The recall is a result of improper labelling, with certain Adco-Nevirapine tablets packed in Adco-Zidovudine cartons. The company recently won a 663 million rands government contract to supply the life-saving AIDS drugs to public hospitals. The company would not say how many of the drugs had already been distributed. "Adcock Ingram is committed to the quality, safety and efficacy of its products... [read full story]