Sanofi, I want to love your Allerject® epinephrine auto-injector, I really, really do. The size is just so perfect for popping into pockets, and it fits my tiny son so perfectly. I love that the device has a calm voice recording that walks people through the injection process. I rely on your product to save the life of my child if he should ever suffer an anaphylactic reaction, but with multiple recalls in less than one year, the trust is gone. I told everyone how much I loved your product in the past, but it's time we break up.
Back in June, Sanofi issued a recall due to needle defects, which was pretty scary. When we rely on devices like this, we expect that there will be no mistakes. Of course, errors happen, so when that recall was complete, I assumed the troubles were over, and we restocked with new Allerject® units. Then, only four months later, another voluntary recall was released. There had been 20 reports of Allerject® device malfunctions, and Sanofi made sure we all knew this recall was "voluntary", but still I wondered how a device like this can fail, and Health Canada wouldn't insist on the recall. In any case, Sanofi was thankful for help in dispersing the recall information, assuring everyone that only certain batches were affected (to the tune of more than 2.7 million Allerject® units!), and we were not to worry.
Now it's December, only six months after the first recall, and Sanofi has updated October's press release and recall to say that all Allerject® units must be returned to your local pharmacy to be exchanged for EpiPens®. EpiPen® had to step up production to meet the demand needed (which I am sure absolutely thrilled them, being the only competitor on the market), and we've exchanged $400 worth of Allerject® devices for EpiPens® instead. If I cannot trust that this device will work, how can I support the company? I cannot.
Per the press release:
• Canadian customers are instructed to immediately return all Allerject® devices to their local pharmacy.
• Previous recommendations to limit the number of devices that can be replaced for an alternate auto-injector are now removed as a result of the announcement that supply of the alternative product is sufficient to satisfy the demand.
• All Allerject® epinephrine auto-injectors returned by patients to their pharmacist with an expiry date between October 2015 and December 2016 inclusively continue to be eligible for replacement at no cost to the patient.
I'm sorry, Allerject®, it's not me, it's you. This is where we part ways.
RELATED: Allerject Recall
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