Certain Thyroid Medications Recalled Over Its Ineffectiveness

Some Lots of NP thyroid medications, known as NP thyroid, are being recalled due to their sub-potency. The company found the medications to be less potent than what has been described on the label. Read on to find more information about thyroid medications.

Reason for the thyroid medications recall

Acella Pharmaceutical has announced the recall of its popular thyroid treatment NP Thyroid tablets USP. The testing was discovered to contain less than 90% of the medicine’s two labeled ingredients including liothyronine (LT3) and levothyroxine (LT4). These drugs are used to treat hypothyroidism. The re-examined drugs include 15 mg, 30 mg, 60 mg, 90 mg, and 120 mg medicines packed in 100-count and 7-count bottles. The main reason for this recall is, 43 cases of critical problems have been reported. Signs of these recalled drugs include the common signs of hypothyroidism such as increased sensitivity to cold, fatigue, puffy face, constipation, slow heart rate, swelling of the thyroid, gland, depression, weight gain, and difficulty in losing weight.

The company disclosed in the recall statement that there is a possibility of experiencing a serious injury in newborn babies or pregnant women who have hypothyroidism, including that include fetal hyperthyroidism, miscarriage, or impairment to fetal neural and skeletal growth. The company further added that toxic heart problems are associated with hyperthyroidism such as heart palpitations, chest pain, or irregular heartbeat among elder patients and patients who have heart disease.

At present Acella is trying to stop the distribution of these recalled thyroid medications. Patients who are currently taking these drugs can continue taking them and consult with their physician for further guidance. The same drugs were recalled in November for containing lower than specified potency. Acella Pharmaceuticals recalled 13 lots of the drugs that were overly potent in May 2020, with FDA testing. The recall revealed some thyroid drugs contained up to 110% of the labeled amount of LT3.

If consumers have any queries about the recall, they can email Acella Pharmaceuticals at recall@acellapharma.com or contact 888-424-4341, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

What Does Thyroid Do?

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland situated at the bottom of the neck. It regulates your metabolism with two important hormones including T3 (triiodothyronine, which contains three iodide atoms) and T4 (thyroxine, which contains four iodide atoms). These hormones also help improve body temperature, how food is metabolized, controls nail and hair growth, and other body functions such as heart rate.

What Is Hypothyroidism? 

Hypothyroidism is a condition, occurs when the body doesn’t produce sufficient thyroid hormones such as T3 and T4. It can affect your body functions. Around 4.6 percent of Americans ages 12 or above have hypothyroidism. Approximately 10 million Americans live with the condition.