PlainMeds drug rankings

Most Recalled Drugs

All tracked drugs ranked by total number of FDA recall actions.

Data updated 2026-05-15

202
Drugs ranked
28
Top: Testosterone
4
#50: Hydrocortisone

This board versus the other map

Ustekinumab is NADAC unit-cost #1 of 572 at $26,794.63/unit at FAERS #78 of 524 ≠ Adalimumab FAERS report-volume #1 of 524 at 695,825 at NADAC #8 of 572. Testosterone is a third map: recall-count #1 of 202 (28 actions).

#1
Ustekinumab NADAC
$26,794.63
per unit
#1
Adalimumab FAERS
695,825
reports (not danger)

According to CMS NADAC and FDA FAERS compiled on /methodology. The table below is this board only. Report volume is not per-patient risk, and this page is not medical advice.

Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →

What This Ranking Tells Us

FDA drug recalls occur when a product is found to be defective, contaminated, or mislabeled. Recalls are classified by severity: Class I (most serious, reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death), Class II (may cause temporary or reversible health consequences), and Class III (unlikely to cause adverse health effects). Drugs with multiple recalls often have complex manufacturing processes prone to contamination or quality control issues.

Top 12 by Recalls

All tracked drugs ranked by total number of FDA recall actions.

Recalls

What this shows testosterone leads at 28, ahead of calcium carbonate and duloxetine.

Source FDA Enforcement Reports
# Drug Recalls
1 testosterone 28
2 calcium carbonate 25
3 duloxetine 22
4 semaglutide 22
5 losartan 19
6 levothyroxine 18
7 chlorpromazine 17
8 estradiol 17
9 zinc sulfate 16
10 amlodipine 15
11 vancomycin 15
12 valsartan 13
13 artificial tears 12
14 fentanyl 12
15 ranitidine 12
16 hydrochlorothiazide 11
17 ibuprofen 11
18 metformin 11
19 benzoyl peroxide 10
20 carvedilol 10
21 epinephrine 10
22 phenylephrine 10
23 acetaminophen 8
24 tirzepatide 8
25 triamcinolone 8
26 atorvastatin 7
27 timolol 7
28 atomoxetine 6
29 dexamethasone 6
30 diphenhydramine 6
31 folic acid 6
32 metoprolol 6
33 prazosin 6
34 primidone 6
35 haloperidol 5
36 isotretinoin 5
37 methylcobalamin 5
38 moxifloxacin 5
39 potassium chloride 5
40 prednisolone 5
41 albuterol 4
42 capsaicin 4
43 cephalexin 4
44 cholecalciferol 4
45 ciprofloxacin 4
46 cyanocobalamin 4
47 enalapril 4
48 erythromycin 4
49 gabapentin 4
50 hydrocortisone 4

Primary source: FDA Enforcement Reports. Supplementary labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL). These rankings are source-record indexes and do not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What triggers an FDA drug recall?

Recalls are triggered by manufacturing defects (contamination, incorrect dosage), labeling errors, quality failures (wrong ingredients, impurities like NDMA), or new safety information. Most recalls are initiated voluntarily by manufacturers after discovering problems during quality testing.

What does a recall ranking measure?

A recall ranking orders FDA Enforcement Report rows in this catalogue. Each record may identify specific lots, manufacturers, or formulations; the ranking is not an individual medication-response direction.

Reading the Most Recalled Drugs

This table ranks 50 drugs by recalls, sourced from FDA Enforcement Reports. The current leader is testosterone at 28, followed by calcium carbonate and duloxetine. Each row links to a full drug profile so readers can move from headline number to the underlying FDA data, labeling, FAERS reports, recalls, pricing, and shortage status, that explains why a particular drug sits where it does.

FDA drug recalls occur when a product is found to be defective, contaminated, or mislabeled. Recalls are classified by severity: Class I (most serious, reasonable probability of serious adverse health consequences or death), Class II (may cause temporary or reversible health consequences), and Class III (unlikely to cause adverse health effects). Drugs with multiple recalls often have complex manufacturing processes prone to contamination or quality control issues.

Rankings are diagnostic, not prescriptive. Absolute numbers are shaped by exposure volume, reporting practices, and data-collection methodology, so a drug near the top is not automatically "worse" than a drug near the bottom, it may simply be older, more widely prescribed, or manufactured by firms with more visible reporting. Context from FDA Enforcement Reports updates continuously, which means the relative order here can change from one refresh to the next. Rankings on this page are for educational research only and must not be used as a substitute for medical advice from a licensed clinician.

Explore More Rankings

Most Expensive Most Adverse Events Most Death Reports Most Hospitalizations Longest Shortages

Compare testosterone vs calcium carbonate side-by-side →

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These rankings are for informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. They copy CMS NADAC and FDA FAERS/Enforcement Report extracts; they do not tell anyone which medicine to take. See methodology and guides.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Source: FDA Enforcement Reports

See our methodology for how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled from the source snapshot dated . See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a data issue.