Shoppers Drug Mart Issues Statement Regarding Expired Birth Control Medication (Alesse 21) Dispensed in Western Canada between March 16 and April 1, 2015

TORONTO, April 6, 2015 /CNW/ – Shoppers Drug Mart has identified that a number of patients in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba received expired birth control medication called Alesse 21 between March 16 and April 1, 2015.

We deeply regret this occurrence and apologize unreservedly to all those affected.

Product affected:

Action to be taken:

Women from Alberta who were dispensed Alesse 21 between March 16 and April 1, 2015 from the Shoppers Drug Mart locations listed at the end of this statement are urged to check the expiry date on their medication and contact their pharmacy.

As soon as Shoppers became aware that expired Alesse 21 had been dispensed, we called each customer potentially affected by the error directly. We informed them of the mistake, offered to immediately replace the expired product and provided information and counselling. We estimate that approximately 100 customers received the expired product.  We have connected with all patients who were dispensed expired product in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The care of all our patients and their health is the utmost priority for us at Shoppers. Our pharmacists take their professional responsibility to dispense medications very seriously.

In this instance, however, human error at our distribution centre in Calgary resulted in an incorrect data entry to the inventory system. Expired product was then shipped to stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and dispensed to patients.

Our patients’ well-being and trust are of foremost concern and guide our business decisions and processes.  Shoppers Drug Mart has launched a review of its internal protocols to determine how to prevent errors of this kind in future.

The following is a list of remaining locations that may have dispensed expired Alesse 21:

About Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation
Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation is one of the most recognized and trusted names in Canadian retailing.  The Company is the licensor of full-service retail drug stores operating under the name Shoppers Drug Mart (Pharmaprix in Québec).  With more than 1,250 Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix stores operating in prime locations in each province and two territories, the Company is one of the most convenient retailers in Canada.  The Company also licenses or owns 50 medical clinic pharmacies operating under the name Shoppers Simply Pharmacy (Pharmaprix Simplement Santé in Québec) and six luxury beauty destinations operating as Murale.  As well, the Company owns and operates 62 Shoppers Home Health Care stores, making it the largest Canadian retailer of home healthcare products and services.  In addition to its retail store network, the Company owns Shoppers Drug Mart Specialty Health Network Inc., a provider of specialty drug distribution, pharmacy and comprehensive patient support services, and MediSystem Technologies Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical products and services to long-term care facilities. Shoppers Drug Mart is a unique and independent operating division of Loblaw Companies Limited.

SOURCE Shoppers Drug Mart Corporation