The Largest Pharmaceutical Recalls Recorded In US History

Drug, health, and beauty product recalls happen more frequently than you probably realize. And while not all recalls make headlines, some have gained attention and notoriety, often because they were widespread, affected countless consumers, and in many cases, caused harm (or had the potential to cause harm.)

Among the largest drug-related and health product recalls that rocked the United States was the stinky situation of the country's largest deodorant recall. In 2025, fans of Power Stick learned that no less than 67,000 cases of the brand's antiperspirant and deodorant were being removed from shelves. Although no specific reason was given for the removal of the items, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) called it a Class II recall, a designation reserved for products that may cause "adverse health consequences" that are reversible or temporary.

A.P. Deauville, the company behind Power Stick, initiated the recall. The manufacturer only said that the units it was recalling didn't live up to its quality and safety expectations. Currently, there's no publicly available evidence on the specifics behind the recall.

Deodorants are far from the only pharmaceutical products to have ever been recalled. Cosmetics can also be recalled in large quantities. In 2019, the FDA recalled multiple personal hygiene products (which included baby powders, facial blusher and bronzer, eye shadow, and matte powder) after finding they contained asbestos. When inhaled, asbestos particles can lead to irreparable lung damage, respiratory diseases, and several forms of cancer. The manufacturers of the concerned products voluntarily recalled the items that tested positive for asbestos.

Why would asbestos be in a beauty product in the first place? And should the recall make you think twice about the makeup and moisture-absorbent powders you choose? A 2020 study in Environmental Health Insights examined 21 personal beauty products with talc (a mineral) as an ingredient. Three of the products had asbestos in them, supporting the hypothesis that manufacturers that use talc may not be effectively screening their products for naturally occurring asbestos.

In response to concerns about the safety of beauty items, the FDA issued the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). The act specifically states that manufacturers will need to follow established standardized methods to test products with talc for asbestos.

In 2005, a pharmaceutical called Bextra disappeared from the market during another voluntary recall. Manufactured by drug giant Pfizer, Bextra was marketed as a painkiller due to its ability to reduce inflammation.

According to ABC News, the FDA initiated the recall based on data pointing to the drug's potential to cause serious heart and skin conditions. Additionally, Pfizer hadn't released enough data to show what potential cardiovascular symptoms consumers could expect with long-term use of the drug (via Johns Hopkins Medicine). Since then, Bextra has not made it back to the U.S. market.

The damage had already been done, though, and not just to people who took the drug. Pfizer shareholders were also miffed because they felt Pfizer had concealed important information about serious side effects of Bextra. The shareholders asserted that they lost investment dollars as a result, and they took legal action against Pfizer. In 2016 (more than a decade after the Bextra recall), Reuters reported that Pfizer settled the lawsuit for millions of dollars.

In the 1990s, the weight loss drug fen-phen was given FDA approval, and consumers raced to try it. (Here are some strange diet trends from the past you may not remember.)

Interestingly, a study showed that people who took fen-phen weren't losing significant amounts of weight. Nonetheless, it still became a huge hit with individuals who wanted help shedding pounds. Within five months of its appearance in the U.S., physicians had reportedly written millions of prescriptions for their patients.

The only problem was that fen-phen turned out to have a potentially fatal side effect: Some consumers who took it ended up with heart valve issues. After 75 heart-related patient cases were sent to the FDA, fen-phen was taken off the market in 1997. But like Bextra, fen-phen's aftereffects weren't forgiven or forgotten. By 1999, the manufacturers behind fen-phen and another weight loss drug settled a class action lawsuit for $3.75 billion, according to the American Heart Association.