Excedrin Still Off the Market

A recall in January is the reason behind why you can’t find Excedrin in any stores

One of the leading over-the-counter pain relievers remains off the shelves at local pharmacies.

In January, Novartis Consumer Health Inc., the maker of Excedrin, recalled most of its products with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2014 or earlier.

More than six months later, you still can’t find the pain-relieving medicine in local pharmacies. At the time of the recall, Novartis announced that it was a voluntary recall focused on improving the quality of its products.

“The voluntary recall is precautionary following consumer complaints of chipped and broken pills and inconsistent bottle packaging line clearance practices possibly resulting in mixed tablets,” said the company in a media release.

Novartis also ceased operations and shipments from its Lincoln, Nebraska facility. The company says, “these actions were taken to accelerate maintenance and other improvement activities at the site.“

Although there were complaints that caused the recall, the company has stated that there were no incidents reported as a result of the problems with the products. The recall was a precautionary method to assess and investigate the claims made by Excedrin’s consumers.

“Mixing of different products in the same bottle could result in consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient,” said Novartis. “This could potentially result in overdose, interaction with other medications a consumer may be taking, or an allergic reaction if the consumer is allergic to the unintended ingredient.”

We called some local pharmacies to ask if they had any Excedrin left and the handful we reached out to all said they had none.

Pharmacies like CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens have generic brands in their stock that have been substitutes for some of Excedrin’s products. Advil, Ibuprofen and Motrin have also served as alternatives for the migraine and headache pills.

The only way that you can get Excedrin is by finding the drug in single-dose packets though there are some for sale online if you look around.

Novartis has asked consumers to either destroy the identified products or return the unused bottles for refunds.

Novartis’ Consumer and Relationship Center has said that they expect Excedrin to be back in stores in June or July but no exact date has been offered.

Contact Us