Dangerous antipsychotic medications were introduced deliberately in thousands of Nurofen Plus packages distributed in pharmacies in Britain; this alleged act of sabotage was committed, most likely by animal rights activists, reports The Daily Mail, in the online edition.
A warning was issued after it was discovered that several boxes of Nurofen Plus contained Seroquel XL, a drug manufactured by AstraZeneca, used to treat schizophrenia. It would have been inserted in the Nurofen boxes by activists who would have carried on a sabotage operation in order to create damage to Nurofen Plus manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser. The company was targeted because it is alleged to test some products on animals, though Nurofen Plus is not among them.
The suspicious packages – containing a total of half a million pills – were sent to pharmacies throughout the UK.
The alleged sabotage was discovered after three packages were located in South London. “There is the suggestion that the wrong drugs were deliberately placed in the wrong boxes”, said Siân Boisseau, Virgo Health Director, a PR company representing Nurofen.
People who inadvertently use Seroquel may experience drowsiness and can not operate any tool or machine until they find out how the pills affect them. A spokesman for the company which manufactures Seroquel, AstraZeneca, said that those who took the wrong pills should contact their doctor and bring the drugs back to the pharmacy where they purchased them.
The two drugs are packaged differently. Thus, large packages containing 50 milligram pills of Seroquel XL are colored in gold and black, while packages containing Nurofen Plus are smaller and are colored silver and black.