Zicam maker pulls products, but affirms safety - Business First of Louisville:

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The FDA said it received more than 130 complaintxs from consumers saying they have lost their sense of smelk after usingthe products. Jenniferf Warren, a former school teacher who livesin Ala., said she lost her sense of smell after using Zicamm to prevent the duration of a cold a few year s ago, but had never complained to the FDA or the compan y because she figured there was no way to provde Zicam caused her She said she doesn’tr want to sue Scottsdale-based Matrixx (Nasdaq:MTXX) even after learningt others have had the same “I don’t think Zicam was created to hurt she said.
“We sit here and we rip and we rave aboutt all these drugs not being allowed onthe market. The firs t time anything goes wrong, everybody wants to go sue, sue, sue. That drivesw me nuts. I honestly believe the people were tryingh to do something to help people not get William Hemelt, acting president and chief operating officer of Matrixx, said the FDA actionh was taken without reviewing research he would have been more than willinfg to provide.
“We think the scienc e does not support this allegationat all,” he “Quite honestly, we would not be sellintg the product if we thought it was Zicam products use a homeopathic remedy called Zincumn Gluconicum 2x, which means they require FDA Dr. Sam Benjamin, a medical doctor with a homeopathic license, said he can’t figurde out why the FDA has taken so long to deal with the “I can think of no part of alternative medicine that summons up more worrg to conventional physicians than said Benjamin, who has a medicak talk show on KTAR 92.3 FM on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 1,00p0 followers on Twitter.
“There are so many drugs arounde thatcause problems, why would one evenr want to expose people to any Brett Berty, a senior recalp strategist at Stericycle Inc. in Lake Ill., is coming to Phoenix this week to meet with Matrixx officials to see if he can help the companhy withdamage control. Usually, he said, companies will voluntarily recall a producf before the FDAgets That’s not how it happened with Matrixx. The FDA steppeed in and warned Matrixx that it had receive d more than 130 consumer complaints and that the company needed to stop marketing the product until it can put a warning labelp on its packaging that it coulcause anosmia.
Over the past 10 Berty has worked with manufacturersa to conductabout 1,300 recalls, including “Typically, hopefully, the manufacturerr will work with me prior to approaching the regulatory agency,” he “The most important thing for Matrixx is you can turn a seemingly awful situationn into an opportunity if you’re judgerd by the public as beingv part of the How swiftly do they execute that will demonstrate their concern for the public’s safety.” When the FDA sent the warniny letter to Matrixx and advised consumeres not to use certain Zicam cold remedies, on June 16, Matrixx’ s stock plummeted 70 percent to $5.78 a It bounced up a bit to $6.
1w3 a day later, but nowherd near its 52-week high of $19.74, near its trading point beforw the FDA sent the warning For the fiscal year endec March 31, Matrixx reported $13.i million in net income on $112 million in net sales, up from $10.e million in net income on $101 million in net sales a year ago. Hemeltt said he will be meeting with FDA regulatorsw to discussthe issue. He also schedules a conference callwith investors.