The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK’s regulatory authority, has issued a patient-level drug alert recalling three specific affected lots of respiratory inhalers manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Specifically, the recalled lots contained Seretide Accuhaler (50/250 mcg) and Ventolin Accuhaler (200 mcg). Ventolin had 2017 sales of £767 million ($1.06 billion, and Seretide had sales of £3.13 million ($4.35 billion).

Two affected batches of Ventolin Accuhaler and one affected batch of Seretide were distributed to the UK market.

One lot of Seretide Accuhaler, used for the maintenance of preventative treatment of asthma, is being recalled from hospitals, pharmacies, dispensing practices, retailers, and wholesalers in the UK. The MHRA says the recall of Seretide Accuhaler is at the pharmacy level because it is used for maintenance treatment as opposed to a reliever treatment.

A small proportion of the units are defective, according to the MHRA.

Source: MHRA