Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. has stopped production of its generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor as the company investigates what caused tiny glass particles to appear in some bottles, triggering a large recall earlier this month. Details also emerged Thursday of a smaller recall of Ranbaxy’s generic Lipitor in August, over a potential pill mix-up. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which disclosed Ranbaxy’s production halt Thursday, said it didn’t anticipate a shortage of atorvastatin—the generic name for Lipitor—because there are other manufacturers. The FDA said it is monitoring the situation and is working with other manufacturers to ensure adequate supply. The FDA and Ranbaxy said they weren’t aware of any adverse health problems resulting from the presence of glass particles in the company’s atorvastatin product. Ranbaxy is an Indian unit of Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ranbaxy said it voluntarily recalled 41 lots of atorvastatin on Nov. 9 because some batches contained tiny glass particles, resembling fine grains of sand.
