Shoppers Drug Mart issues statement regarding expired birth control

TORONTO — Shoppers Drug Mart has identified that a number of patients in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba received expired birth control medication called Alesse 21 between March 16 and April 1, 2015.

 

The company is urging that women from Alberta who were dispensed Alesse 21 between March 16 and April 1, 2015 to check the expiration date on their medication and contact their pharmacy.



As soon as Shoppers became aware that expired Alesse 21 had been dispensed, it called each customer potentially affected by the error directly. It informed them of the mistake, offered to immediately replace the expired product and provided information and counselling. The company estimates that approximately 100 customers received the expired product.  It has connected with all patients who were dispensed expired product in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.



The company stated that human error at its distribution center in Calgary resulted in an incorrect data entry to the inventory system. Expired product was then shipped to stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and dispensed to patients.