Biotech firm Amgen Inc. announced a recall of Epogen and Procrit anemia drugs, due to safety concerns arising from glass flakes from the injected drugs’ vials.
Amgen said that the flakes, while they are hard to detect to the naked eye, could cause blood clots and swelling of veins in certain cases. Consumers using such drugs can call 1-800-77-AMGEN (26436) to ask questions, and the affected drugs’ lot numbers can be found on the company’s website. Amgen makes both drugs in Puerto Rico, but Procrit is distributed to the U.S. market by Johnson & Johnson. Sales from Epogen totaled $2.6 billion in 2009, according to the company.
