Group: Medical Device, Pharmaceutical Recalls Down Significantly

A recent study shows that both medical device and pharmaceutical recalls were down significantly over the fourth quarter of 2011, decreasing 63% and 35% respectively.

The study, conducted by Stericycle ExpertRECALL, found that medical devices only experienced 106 recalls in the fourth quarter of 2011. This was down 63% from the previous quarter and 57% from the previous year. Recalls primarily affected Class II medical devices, accounting for 93% of all device types and 99% of all recalled units.

The study also found that pharmaceutical product recalls were down from the prior quarter, but were higher than average. Recalls decreased 35% in the fourth quarter of 2011, but increased 36% over the fourth quarter of Q4 2010.

Ninety-seven pharmaceutical products representing 92 million units were recalled in Q4 2011. Broken down by risk:

Class I - Dangerous Products - 11%
Class II - Risky Products - 63%
Class III - Defective/Mislabeled - 26%

Several products accounted for the majority of product recalls, including two that accounted for more than 10 million units each.

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