> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.fdaweb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Device Recalls Up, Drugs Down: Stericycle
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/device-recalls-up-drugs-down-stericycle/
- Published: 2016-11-15T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T21:47:53.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, Devices, #legacy-id-D5137343

The Stericycle Expert Solutions Q3 recall [index](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/recall-roller-coaster-food-consumer-product-and-medical-device-recalls-are-up-automotive-and-pharmaceutical-recalls-are-down-in-q3-recall-index-300363204.html?tc=eml%5Fcleartime&ref=fdaweb.com) finds that medical device recalls were up, while drug recalls were down in the third quarter of 2016\. Medical device recalls reached their highest level since at least 2000, the report says, rising by 29% over the previous quarter to 339\. Recalled units also increased 187% to nearly 116 million, making this the highest quarter since the third quarter of 2012, the report says. Some 59.1% of all recalled units were due to quality issues, Stericycle says.

Software and mislabeling were the cause for 48.1% of medical device recalls. Only 47% of the medical device recalls were international, the lowest level in the last four years, while 55% were nationwide. The report says that 50 companies experienced more than one recall in Q3, the highest number since Q1 2014.

“The race to innovate more advanced medical devices no doubt improves quality of life for many patients,” the firm says. “But advancements are also vulnerable to recalls.”

By contrast, pharmaceutical recalls decreased by 20% in Q3 to 65 recalls. Stericycle says that while this is a decline from Q2, it is higher than Q1 2016 and the average quarter in 2015\. Recalled units were consistent with the previous quarter, dropping just 3%.

The report says that failed specifications and sterility issues accounted for 63.9% of recalled units in Q3\. Class 3 situations accounted for 57% of recalled units, a reverse from Q2 and the historical trend, when Class 2 was the largest percentage. Stericycle says that average recall size has increased throughout the year, climbing the nearly 132,500 units in Q3, the highest since Q3 2015\. Ten companies experienced more than one recall, a decrease from Q2 but higher than Q1 and the 2015 average. Some 82% of pharmaceutical recalls were nationwide.