Drug recalls

About drug recalls

FDA drug recalls cover prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, biologic and gene therapies, and active pharmaceutical ingredients (the raw drug substances that manufacturers compound into finished products). Recall classifications follow the same Class I / II / III system as food, and most published recalls are Class II — the product is unlikely to cause permanent harm but doesn't meet specification.

The most common reasons for a drug recall are out-of-specification potency or dissolution (the active ingredient is present in too high or too low a dose), microbial contamination, particulate matter in injectables, mix-ups during packaging where bottles end up with the wrong tablets, and nitrosamine impurities in certain drug classes. Many drug recalls are at the lot level — the manufacturer's whole product line is still safe to use, but specific production lots are pulled.

If a recall affects your medication: don't stop taking it on your own. Call your prescriber or pharmacist before doing anything. Stopping a prescribed drug abruptly can be more dangerous than the issue prompting the recall. Most drug-recall remedies route through the dispensing pharmacy, who'll either swap your supply for an unaffected lot or coordinate a refund with the manufacturer.