Stolen Carbatrol and Adderall XR – Check Lot Numbers

A pharmaceutical company recently alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that some drugs taken during a 2008 pharmaceutical cargo theft may be beginning to reappear in the market.

On October 17, 2008, a shipment of Carbatrol and Adderall XR made by Shire Pharmaceuticals was stolen en route between the company’s manufacturing facility in North Carolina and a distribution center in Florence, Kentucky.

In the theft nearly 35,000 capsules of Carbatrol, which expired between April 30 and May 31 of this year, were stolen.

Shire recently announced that some of these stolen pharmaceuticals have begun to appear in its expired returns and that some of the pilfered medication may still be on the market.

Shire warns that the drugs taken during pharmaceutical cargo thefts are unsafe because they may have experienced improper storage and handling or tampering outside of the secure supply chain.

The product lot numbers for the stolen Carbatrol and Adderall XR are 2172127 and 2385012, respectively. Those who come in contact with these products should contact the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations at 1-800-551-3989. The Agency is also asking for the public’s help in reporting any information regarding the stolen Carbatrol or Adderall XR, including suspicious or unsolicited offers for these products, by contacting OCI at the above number, or by visiting the OCI website at www.fda.gov/oci.