Patients who are not self-isolating or shielding due to COVID-19 have been asked to return their Emerade 500mcg auto-injectors once they have been supplied with an alternative brand, the MHRA said yesterday (May 18).

The MHRA and the Department of Health and Social Care have “established that there are sufficient supplies of alternative auto-injectors to allow a recall to patient level”.

Healthcare professionals should instruct patients to request a new prescription for an Emerade 500mcg auto-injector replacement. Patients can be supplied an alternative brand such as EpiPen or Jext, whose auto-injectors are available in a maximum strength of 300mcg.

“There is evidence to suggest that a single EpiPen 300mcg or Jext 300mcg pen will be a suitable replacement for a single Emerade 500mcg pen,” the MHRA said.

Patients should return their Emerade 500mcg pens “when they have obtained a total of two adrenaline 300mcg auto-injectors in a different brand”, according to the MHRA.

Previous Emerade pens recalls

All strengths of Emerade pens are affected by the manufacturing defect, according to manufacturer Pharmaswiss Česka republika – an affiliate of Bausch & Lomb UK.

The MHRA recalled Emerade 150mcg pens on March 4 and Emerade 300mcg pens on April 7, but it could not recall Emerade 500mcg pens until yesterday as there were “insufficient supplies of alternatives to provide replacements”.