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

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The FDA said it received more than 130 complaintx from consumers saying they have lost their sensed of smell after usingthe products. Jennifer a former school teacher who livesin Ala., said she lost her sense of smell afte r using Zicam to prevent the duratioh of a cold a few years ago, but had neve r complained to the FDA or the company becausew she figured there was no way to prove Zicam caused her anosmia. She said she doesn’tf want to sue Scottsdale-based Matrixx (Nasdaq:MTXX) even after learningv others have had thesame “I don’t think Zicam was create to hurt anyone,” she said.
“We sit here and we rip and we rave aboug all these drugs not being allowed on the The first time anythinggoes wrong, everybodyu wants to go sue, sue, sue. That drives me I honestly believe the people were trying to do somethinf to help people not get William Hemelt, acting president and chief operatingh officer of Matrixx, said the FDA action was taken withou reviewing research he would have been more than willing to “We think the science does not support this allegatioj at all,” he said.
“Quite honestly, we would not be sellin the product if we thought it was Zicam products use a homeopathicv remedy called ZincumGluconicum 2x, whichy means they require FDA approval. Dr. Sam Benjamin, a medicalk doctor with a homeopathic license, said he can’t figur out why the FDA has taken so long to deal withthe “I can think of no part of alternative medicin e that summons up more worryu to conventional physicians than homeopathy,” said Benjamin, who has a medical talk show on KTAR 92.3 FM on Saturdaysx at 2 p.m. and 1,000o followers on Twitter. “There are so many drug s around thatcause problems, why would one eventg want to expose peoplr to any danger.
” Brett a senior recall strategist at Stericycle Inc. in Lake Ill., is coming to Phoenicx this week to meet with Matrixxz officials to see if he can help the companyh withdamage control. Usually, he said, companies will voluntarilty recall a product before the FDAgets That’s not how it happene d with Matrixx. The FDA stepped in and warnes Matrixx that it had receivede more than 130 consumer complaints and that the companyg needed to stop marketingt the product until it can put a warninvg label on its packaging that it couldcausre anosmia. Over the past 10 Berty has worked with manufactureras to conductabout 1,300 recalls, includin Vioxx.
“Typically, hopefully, the manufacturer will work with me priodr to approaching theregulatory agency,” he said. “The most importang thing for Matrixx is you can turn a seeminglyt awful situation into an opportunityif you’red judged by the public as being part of the How swiftly do they executwe that will demonstrate their concern for the public’s When the FDA sent the warning letterr to Matrixx and advised consumers not to use certainb Zicam cold remedies, on June 16, Matrixx’s stock plummetec 70 percent to $5.78 a share. It bounced up a bit to $6.
1 a day later, but nowhere near its 52-week high of near its trading poingt before the FDA sent thewarning letter. For the fiscalk year ended March 31, Matrixx reported $13.8i million in net income on $112 milliohn in net sales, up from $10.4 millionj in net income on $101 millionb in net sales a year ago. Hemelt said he will be meetin g with FDA regulators to discussthe issue. He also scheduled a conferencde callwith investors.