The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has had to recall some one million packages of birth control pills after post-production investigations indicated that some of the packages may not contain enough contraceptive to prevent pregnancy.
Pfizer Inc. has voluntarily recalled 14 batches of their popular Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 batches of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets . The company reported that due to production irregularities some of the packages may not contain the clinically-proven amount of the contraceptive required to avoid fertilization.
In an official statement made Wednesday on their website, Pfizer explained that a number of the foil blister-packets in which the medications are packaged were found to contain too many tablets while others had too few.
A Pfizer spokesman said the problem was a result of a combination of visual and mechanical inspection errors on their packaging line.
In the statement, the company also made clear that the affected pills were in no way dangerous to women´s health but that there was a possibility that they might not be effective as a contraceptive.
Pfizer also advised customers who use the pills in question to immediately “begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception.”
The affected pills are marketed by Akrimax Pharmaceuticals, and by the time Pfizer noticed the potential production error, the pills had already been distributed to warehouses and pharmacies nationwide.
“As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy,” read the website.
Packages of hormone-regulating oral contraceptives typically contain 21 tablets with medication and seven inactive sugar tablets to regulate the menstrual period and prevent pregnancy.
The company says that the affected packets have expiration dates between July 31, 2013, and March 31, 2014.
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Pfizer Recalls Ineffective Birth Control Pills
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