After Pharma Recall, Double Check Your Birth Control Pills to Make Sure They Aren't Actually Placebos 

If you’re on the birth control pill Taytulla, check the serial numbers as soon as possible because the pharmaceutical company that makes it, Allergan, just announced that—uh—in a recent lot, some of the pills are actually misplaced placebos! Great!

STAT News reported that Allergan has announced the voluntary recall of a recent batch because the first four pills in the flawed packs are actually inactive:

One lot of Taytulla physician sample packs (marked lot #5620706 Exp. May 2019) contained the out-of-order pills, the company said. It learned about the error from a doctor who reported it.

There are approximately 170,000 units in the one lot of physician samples that Allergan voluntarily recalled, a company spokeswoman said. The sample packs of 28 pills each were distributed to doctors nationwide.

“As a result of this packaging error, oral contraceptive capsules, that are taken out of sequence, may place the user at risk for contraceptive failure and unintended pregnancy,” said Allergan in its announcement of the recall. “If patients have concerns regarding the possibility of an unintended pregnancy they should consult their physician.”

“Given the nature of the issue, controls and inspections in place on the packaging line, the recall is limited to one lot of Taytulla,” said Allergan. “At this time, no other units with the defect have been identified within the lot or within any other Taytulla lot.”

The company told the Wall Street Journal that they haven’t received any reports of unintended pregnancies, which I’m sure is very reassuring to anybody resisting the urge to run home from work and double check their pack right now.