Fentanyl Pain Patch Recalls

Fentanyl is an opioid that is prescribed to treat chronic and severe pain. Fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than heroin or morphine making it an effective treatment for cancer patients and others who suffer from debilitating pain. Fentanyl is generally administered to patients in the skin patch form, allowing for controlled dosages of the drug. Unfortunately, possible defects in the patch can cause dangerous amounts of Fentanyl to leak, posing serious risks to patients.

The Reason for Fentanyl Pain Patch Recalls

In the past few years, the safety of Fentanyl pain patches has come under scrutiny by the FDA and consumer groups. The manufacturers of Fentanyl patches have recalled lots of the skin patches due to possible defects that allow unsafe dosages of Fentanyl to leak. This could allow patients and caregivers to be exposed to dangerous amounts of the Fentanyl gel. Improper exposure to Fentanyl can cause respiratory depression and overdose, among other side effects. Recent Fentanyl pain patch recalls include:

Watson Pharmaceuticals August 2009 Recall

Watson Pharmaceuticals makes the generic version of the popular Fentanyl pain patch Duragesic. In August of 2009 Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that they were voluntarily recalling a lot a Watson Fentanyl pain patches. The Fentanyl pain patch recall covers a lot of 100 mcg/hr patches that were sold in the United States. The lot number for the patches is 145287A with the expiration date of February 2011 and they were shipped to consumers between early April and late May of this year.

PriCara December 2008 Recall

PriCara, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, voluntarily recalled one lot of its 50 microgram per hour Duragesic pain patches (lot number 0817239), as well as one lot of Sandoz 50 microgram per hour patches (lot number 0816851). The patches were manufactured by Alza Corp., an affiliate of PriCara.

PriCara February 2008 Recall

PriCara voluntarily recalled all lots of 25 microgram per hour Duragesic CII patches sold by PriCara and all 25 microgram per hour fentanyl patches sold by Sandoz Inc. in February of 2008. All of the recalled patches were manufactured by Alza Corp. with an expiration date on or before December 2009.

Actavis February 2008 Recall

Actavis Inc. announced a voluntary recall of 14 lots of its Fentanyl transdermal system CII patches sold in the United States. Corium International Inc. manufactured the affected lots on contract for Actavis. The patches have expiration dates between May and August of 2009 and come in the 25, 50, 75, 100 microgram per hour patch form.

Checking Your Fentanyl Pain Patches

Anyone who suspects they have defective Fentanyl patches are urged to contact the manufacturer of the product, and to seek immediate medical attention in case of a Fentanyl overdose.

Consult a Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been harmed by the use of a defective Fentanyl pain patch, you should contact a Fentanyl attorney to find out whether you are eligible for compensation for your injuries or hardship.