Anyone who takes medications, whether they are prescribed or purchased over the counter, should pay close attention to recalls. Six months have passed since the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis issued a voluntary recall of its best-selling Excedrin over-the-counter analgesic, and reports of migraine sufferers going online and paying up to $170 for a bottle are surfacing.
Medication recalls are very serious matters. In the case of Excedrin, Novartis made its decision after the company found packaging problems in which other pills like Gas-X, Bufferin, and NoDoz may have accidentally strayed into the same bottle, presenting consumers with the risk of taking incorrect medications. Excedrin is a best-selling medication in Oklahoma and many other parts of the world, and thus the potential risk presented by Novartis should not be underestimated.
Novartis is hardly the only pharmaceutical firm issuing recalls of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Other drug recalls like Actos, Paxil, and Vioxx have made headlines due to their potential for becoming very harmful. Recalls tend to be swift due to the enormous liability that pharmaceutical firms routinely face.
How to find out about new and recent recalls
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) routinely publishes information on voluntary and mandatory recalls. In June of 2012, the FDA recalled the Introvale oral contraceptive by Sandoz due to a packaging flaw, just days after it had recalled V Maxx Rx as an undeclared sulfoaidenafil formulation. Patients who have taken medications and later see a recall in the news media should contact a Oklahoma injury attorney to get more information about their options and the course of action they should take.
As of 2011, these are the top 10 drug recalls considered to have had the greatest impact:
- Fenfluramine/phentermine (Fen-Phen) by Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
- Rofecoxib (Vioxx) by Merck
- Valdecoxib (Bextra) by Pfizer
- Troglitazone (Rezulin) by Warner Lambert
- Entire Generic Prescription Catalog by Able Laboratories
- Mibefradil (Posicor) by Roche
- Phenylpropanolamine by various manufacturers
- Diethylstilbestrol by various manufacturers
- Terfenadine (Seldane) by Hoechst
- Cerivastatin (Baycol) by Bayer