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Packaging Mix-Up For Birth Control Pills Prompts Recall

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Here's a boo-boo that you just don't expect to happen at a company making prescription medicines — especially a firm called Qualitest Pharmaceuticals.

The Alabama-based maker of generic drugs apparently didn't do enough quality testing. It's recalling a slew of birth control pills because a mistake in the factory put pills in the wrong places inside plastic packages.

That mix-up means women could be getting the wrong pills during the month, leaving them "without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy," according to the company's notice about the recall.

The affected pills are:

  • Cyclafem 7/7/7
  • Cyclafem 1/35
  • Emoquette
  • Gildess FE 1.5/30
  • Gildess FE 1/20
  • Orsythia
  • Previfem
  • Tri-Previfem
  • To check the specific lots being recalled, see this list.

    "The source of the error is currently under investigation and the company is committed to rectifying the issue in a timely manner," said the drugmaker, a unit of Endo Pharmaceuticals.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Scott Hensley edits stories about health, biomedical research and pharmaceuticals for NPR's Science desk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has led the desk's reporting on the development of vaccines against the coronavirus.