Eli Lilly’s recalled Glucagon Emergency Kits were manufactured at plant cited by U.S. health regulators for poor sanitation

Eli Lilly, an American pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, issued a recall on a batch of its Glucagon Emergency Kits late last month. This is a type of therapy for diabetic patients experiencing an emergency situation.

According to Reuters, it turned out that the recalled emergency kit was manufactured at its factory plant in Indiana. The location is quite controversial because it was cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year for quality control issues, including substandard sanitation.

The health regulators inspected the said Eli Lilly plant and found violations related to quality control in the manufacturing of some of its products. Thus, with the recall, it was unavoidable for some to think that it may be connected to the unhygienic plant. Then again, there is no proof for this.

At any rate, Eli Lilly issued the voluntary recall on one batch of its Glucagon Emergency Kit on Sept. 25, and the FDA published the notice on Sept. 26. The health regulator indicated “loss of potency” as the reason for the recall. Moreover, Lilly was also said to have issued a recall in Canada as well.

The pharmaceutical firm recalled the said kits after receiving a report involving a patient who experienced seizures even after being injected with the drug. This is said to be a situation that indicates the treatment is not potent enough to provide relief or to work as it should. Based on the report, Eli Lilly said the failure could be due to the manufacturing process, but it did not specify or elaborate what exactly the main issue could be.

The drug is mainly used for the treatment of diabetes patients with dangerously low blood sugar. It was described as an anti-hypoglycemic agent and a gastrointestinal motility inhibitor for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Meanwhile, in response to inquiries about the place of production for the recalled product, Eli Lilly confirmed to Reuters that the affected Glucagon Emergency Kit lots were indeed made at its Indianapolis facility. It added that the recalled drug had been distributed in Canada. Around 66,000 units were affected by the recall, and some 19,000 were distributed in the U.S. and Canada.