Drug Company Recalls Bufferin, Excedrin, Gas-X, and NoDoz

Pharmaceutical company Novartis has decided to voluntarily recall several of their over-the-counter drugs, including certain bottles of Excedrin and Bufferin. The recall was issued after an internal review of its facility led to the discovery of bottles that contained broken, mislabeled, and stray pills.

It was also revealed that some of over-the-counter pills affected by the recall have been accidentally packaged with prescription-strength painkillers made at the same facility. The drugs, sold by Endo Pharmaceuticals, include Percocet, Endocet, Opana, and Zydone. The mixing of these products in the same bottle could lead to consumers taking an incorrect dosage and suffering an overdose or allergic reaction.

The drugs affected by the recall include the following pain relievers:

• Excedrin
• NoDoz (caffeine tablets) with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2014, or earlier
• Bufferin (aspirin)
• Gas-X Prevention with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2013, or earlier

Consumers are urged to either throw away or return any unused products that are part of the recall.

Novartis will spend $120 million recalling all of the botched batches of drugs and updating the Lincoln, Nebraska processing facility responsible for the recalled bottles. The company is also working closely with the Food and Drug Administration to make improvements before continuing operations.

More information about dangerous drugs is available online.