02:34 PM EDT, 06/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with CVS response in the last two paragraphs.)

CVS Health ( CVS ) store-brand medications have a higher recall rate than competitors due to quality issues at factories, including contaminated water in production, drugs being too potent and manufacturing oversight, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Over the past decade, CVS's store-brand medications have been recalled about two times more than those from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and three times more than those from Walmart (WMT), according to a Bloomberg analysis of public records.

Kevin Schulman, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, told Bloomberg that large drug purchasers like pharmacies and hospitals have little incentive to choose suppliers based on quality.

While CVS claims to prioritize manufacturing and sourcing standards, the report said that over the last decade, CVS hired at least 15 manufacturers that were cited for manufacturing problems, more than twice as many as its largest rival, Walgreens.

It added that there were 133 recalls of CVS store-brand drugs -- an average of more than one a month -- in that time frame for both pediatric and adult medications, while Walgreens had 70 recalls over the same period and Walmart had 51.

"When choosing suppliers, our priority is identifying those with good manufacturing and ethical sourcing practices and the ability to meet our strict standards and testing practices," a CVS spokesperson said in a statement to MT Newswires.

"We also have a robust product testing program and conduct an average of 350 tests a day to consistently ensure the safety, efficacy, performance, and compliance of our store brand products," the spokesperson added.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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