On January 31, 2012, the FDA posted a safety recall of one million packs of oral contraceptive pills because the pills may not be effective in preventing pregnancy. The recall covers Pfizer birth control Lo/Ovral-28 and generic versions of the drug (Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol) with expiration dates between July 2013 and March 2014. Recalled pills may be labeled under theAkrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. Exact lot numbers for the recalled products are available on the FDA Safety Recall website.
According to Pfizer, the problem was caused by both mechanical and visual inspection failures on the packaging line which caused pills to be packaged out of order. Generally, birth control packets contain three weeks of contraceptive pills that contain hormones followed by a week of sugar pills that do not contain hormones. As a result of the packaging defect, some pill packs contained too many sugar pills and the pills that contained Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol were placed at the wrong point of the cycle to effectively prevent pregnancy. The FDA recommends that consumers return the recalled products to the pharmacy where they were purchased.
