Story Archive

Blister Pack Blunder

What happens if you put a package of pills together the wrong way? In the case of some birth-control pills, 111 pregnancies and 94 births, an attorney claims. The women who got pregnant and two others who say they took the pills are suing Endo Pharmaceuticals and its subsidiary Qualitest, arguing that because of a 180-degree rotation in the packaging, they took placebos when their birth-control regimens called for actual drugs, and that exposed them to unwanted pregnancy. Endo says it can only confirm one rotated blister pack was actually bought by a patient, although a Qualitest spokesman said in 2011 that 1.4 million packages were affected by a recall. The recall notice said the problem did not “pose any immediate health risks.” (AC/CNN) ...Other than a risk of exactly what the pills were being taken to prevent.