After Meridia Recall, Drugmaker Has Setback with Blood-Testing Strips

Abbott Park, ILAbbott Laboratories, which withdrew a diet drug from the market in October due to Meridia side effects, has announced the recall of approximately 359 million blood-sugar testing strips because they could give low readings that are inaccurate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The recall was announced by both Abbot and the FDA recently and it affects six different brands of testing strips that were distributed in the US and Puerto Rico, according to the news provider. The company said it will replace the strips free of charge.

Abbott estimated that the recalled products were worth less than $20 million in inventory, and company spokesman Scott Davies told the news source that the recall does not affect the company's earnings guidance for the year.

In September, the medical device and drug manufacturer recalled approximately 5 million containers of Similac baby formula because of the potential contamination of beetle parts or larvae, the news source said. Then, in October, Abbott withdrew Meridia from the market when the drug was linked to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks.

According to the FDA, the false low readings of the blood-sugar testing strips could pose health risks to patients.