Zantac® tablets 150 mg [(ranitidine hydrochloride tablets)] – possibility of brown discolouration

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pte Ltd has issued a Dear Healthcare Professional Letter to alert healthcare professionals of the possibility of brown discolouration present in some Zantac® (ranitidine hydrochloride) tablets. This discoloration may be on the tablet surface or visible if a tablet is broken. The brown discoloration is due to impurities arising from the degradation of ranitidine, which occurs in the presence of moisture. Healthcare professionals on receipt of brown tablets should return all blister packaged tablets including any samples to GSK. Healthcare professionals should advise their patients not to consume their Zantac® tablets if they are found to be discoloured and to return them. Please refer to the letter for further details.

 
 
Healthcare professional, Therapeutic Products
Published:

Dear Healthcare Professional Letters

12 Dec 2019

Only abstracts of the Dear Healthcare Professional Letters (DHCPL) are provided on this website. Details of the letters can be found on the MOH Alert System, which is accessible via the Health Professionals Portal (HPP). HPP is a one-stop portal for all healthcare professionals in Singapore. Dentists, medical doctors and pharmacists may access HPP at https://www.hpp.moh.gov.sg/, and follow the procedures below to access the MOH Alert system.

Step 1: Scroll down to the bottom navigation panel of the HPP web page. Under the Healthcare Professionals section, expand the dropdown option for ‘Healthcare Professional Portal’ and select your profession. You will be redirected to the specific HPP web page to log in.

Step 2: Click on the Restricted Content icon on the left panel of the web page and log in via SingPass.

Step 3: Click on the MOH Alert icon under the ‘Applications’ section.

Step 4: Click on the Drug Alert tab to view the DHCPLs.