CVS generic drugs twice as likely to be recalled over safety concerns, investigation finds

An investigation by journalists into quality control of generic drugs found CVS-branded medications were recalled twice as often as its competitors, including Walgreens and Walmart.

Notable examples of recalls include contaminated water at a manufacturing facility, drugs for kids that were found to be too potent and one instance in which nasal sprays were produced on the same equipment as pesticides.

Despite the issues at CVS, the retail giant’s generic drugs represent less than 1% of recalls nationally. However, over the last decade, 15 manufacturers for CVS were found to have quality control and safety problems, according to data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That’s twice as many as Walgreens.

CVS has recalled 133 drugs over the last 10 years related to safety and quality concerns. In some instances, despite warnings from the FDA, tainted drugs remained on store shelves for weeks.

For the full story, read Bloomberg’s investigation at the link below.