Pfizer, the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company, voluntarily recalled one million packs of birth control yesterday. To help alleviate concerns and uncertainties, Dr. Kirsten Franklin, M.D. from Obstetrics and Gynecology of Atlanta offered the following advice to patients and women concerned about the birth control recall when contacted yesterday.
I would recommend that anyone currently taking one of the recalled birth control pills contact his or her doctor to have a new pill called in. There are several similar pills available and they can seamlessly transition to the new type. I would not suddenly stop the pill they were on, as that may cause bleeding problems. I would also tell women to use a backup method until they have been on the replacement pill for a month.
The birth control recall was issued because some blister packs may contain pills that have inactive ingredients or are out of order. That means some of the pills may not be strong enough to prevent pregnancy. The recall includes 14 lots of Lo/Ovral®-28 and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets (generic) for customers in the U.S. market, including right here in Atlanta. The problem was caused by "mechanical and visual inspection failures on the packaging line," according to ABC News and the Associated Press.
Below is information that Pfizer released yesterday about its recall of birth control pills…
These products are oral contraceptives indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use oral contraceptives as a method of contraception. These tablets were manufactured and packaged by Pfizer Inc., commercialized by Akrimax Rx Products and labeled under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. This product is distributed to warehouses, clinics and retail pharmacies nationwide.
Any adverse events that may be related to the use of these products should be reported to Akrimax Medical Information at 1-877-509-3935 (8 AM to 7 PM Mon-Fri CST) or to FDA's Med Watch Program either online, by regular mail or by fax.
Customers are encouraged to return the pills to Pfizer immediately by using the postage-paid, pre-addressed Form FDA 3500 that can be downloaded at www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm2 .
For a complete list of lot numbers, follow this link. The lots have expiration dates of between July 13, 2013 and March 31, 2014,
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