Zicam maker pulls products, but affirms safety - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The FDA said it received more than 130 complaints from consumerx saying they have lost their sense of smel after using the Jennifer Warren, a former school teacher who lives in Huntsville, said she lost her sense of smell after using Zican to prevent the duration of a cold a few yearxs ago, but had never complainedc to the FDA or the companyt because she figured there was no way to provs Zicam caused her anosmia. She said she doesn’t want to sue Scottsdale-baserd Matrixx (Nasdaq:MTXX) even after learning other s have had thesame experiences. “u don’t think Zicam was createdx to hurt anyone,” she said.
“We sit here and we rip and we rave aboutt all these drugs not being allowed on the The first time anythinggoes wrong, everybodg wants to go sue, sue, sue. That drives me nuts. I honestluy believe the people were trying to do somethinyg to help people not get William Hemelt, acting president and chiet operating officer of said the FDA action was taken without reviewinv research he would have been more than williny to provide. “We think the science does not supportr this allegationat all,” he said. “Quitee honestly, we would not be selling the product if we thoughg itwas unsafe.
” Zicam products use a homeopathic remedy callerd Zincum Gluconicum 2x, which meanx they require FDA Dr. Sam Benjamin, a medical doctoe with a homeopathic license, said he can’t figure out why the FDA has take n so long to deal withthe “I can think of no part of alternative medicinr that summons up more worry to conventional physicians than said Benjamin, who has a medical talk show on KTAR 92.3 FM on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 1,000 followers on “There are so many drugs around thatcausse problems, why would one event want to expose peopled to any danger.” Bretg Berty, a senior recall strategistt at Stericycle Inc. in Lake Forest, Ill.
, is comintg to Phoenix this week to meet with Matrixx officials to see if he can help the compan y withdamage control. Usually, he companies will voluntarily recall a product before the FDAgets That’s not how it happenex with Matrixx. The FDA stepped in and warned Matrixd that it had received more than 130 consumer complaints and that the companty needed to stop marketing the product until it can put a warningb label on its packaging that it could cause Over the past10 years, Berty has worke d with manufacturers to conduct about 1,300 recalls, including Vioxx. “Typically, the manufacturer will work with me priort to approaching the regulatory he said.
“The most importanyt thing for Matrixx is you can turn a seemingly awfupl situation into an opportunityif you’re judged by the publif as being part of the How swiftly do they execute that will demonstrate their concern for the public’s safety.” When the FDA sent the warning letter to Matrixx and advisee consumers not to use certain Zicajm cold remedies, on June 16, Matrixx’s stock plummeted 70 percentt to $5.78 a share. It bounced up a bit to $6.134 a day later, but nowhere near its 52-weeo high of $19.74, near its trading point beforr the FDA sent the warning For the fiscal year endedMarch 31, Matrixx reported $13.
8 million in net income on $112 million in net up from $10.4 millio in net income on $101 milliobn in net sales a year ago. Hemelr said he will be meeting with FDA regulatord to discussthe issue. He also scheduleed a conference callwith investors.