If you or someone in your family uses insulin made by Sanofi, a quick call to your pharmacy is worth making this week. Health Canada issued a public advisory on Sept. 25, 2026, saying Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc. is recalling certain insulin pens and cartridges because they may have been frozen during shipping.
According to Health Canada, insulin that has been frozen may not work as well as it should. Using an insulin product with reduced effectiveness can lead to high blood sugar, also called hyperglycemia. The agency has listed the issue as a Type I recall, the category it uses for the most serious product problems.
The good news is that the number of affected units is small. Health Canada says only 1,043 units are involved, which is less than one per cent of the total number of units distributed. The catch is that the problem is not tied to entire lots. Only certain units within the listed lots are being recalled, which means a matching lot number on your box does not, on its own, tell you whether your particular pen or cartridge is affected. That is why the advisory points people to the pharmacy, clinic or hospital that supplied the product.
Which products are involved
The recall covers specific lots of the following Sanofi insulin products, according to the Health Canada advisory:
- Admelog 100 IU/mL cartridges and Admelog SoloSTAR 100 IU/mL pens
- Apidra SoloSTAR 100 IU/mL pens
- Lantus SoloSTAR 100 IU/mL pens
- Toujeo SoloSTAR 300 IU/mL and Toujeo DoubleSTAR 300 IU/mL pens
- Trurapi 100 IU/mL cartridges and Trurapi SoloSTAR 100 IU/mL pens
These products cover both long-acting insulin (Lantus and Toujeo contain insulin glargine) and mealtime insulin (Admelog, Apidra and Trurapi), so the recall could touch people managing type 1 or type 2 diabetes in a range of ways. The full list of lot numbers and expiry dates is posted in a table on the official Health Canada recall page, linked at the bottom of this article.
Health Canada says the affected units were shipped to about 80 pharmacies, clinics and hospitals across Canada on July 13 to 15 and Aug. 10 to 13, 2026. If your supply was filled well before July, or you get your insulin from a different manufacturer, this recall does not apply to you.
What Health Canada says to do
The advisory lays out a few clear steps for people who use these products:
- Check the product name, lot number and expiry date on your insulin against the list on the Health Canada recall page.
- Contact the pharmacy or clinic where you got the product to find out whether your specific unit is one of those being recalled.
- If your product is affected, or if you are not sure, do not use it. Return it to your pharmacy or clinic for a replacement and proper disposal.
- If you have already used an affected product, monitor your blood sugar more closely. If you notice any unusual symptoms or have other health concerns, talk to a health-care professional.
In other words, Health Canada’s direction is to swap a questionable pen or cartridge for a replacement, not to go without the insulin you have been prescribed. If you are unsure how to manage the switch, your pharmacist is the right first call.
People with questions about the recall itself can contact Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc. at 1-800-265-7927.
Why freezing matters
Most people know that insulin needs to be kept cool, but freezing is a different problem. Health Canada’s advisory is direct on this point: insulin that has been frozen may have reduced effectiveness. For someone who relies on insulin to keep blood sugar in a safe range, a dose that does not work as expected can push levels higher than intended.
Because the concern in this case arose during shipping, before the products reached pharmacies, people would have had no way of knowing about it from how they stored their insulin at home. That is part of why the recall relies on pharmacies and clinics, which have records of what they received and dispensed, to identify the affected units.
What Health Canada is doing
Health Canada says it is monitoring the company’s recall and the corrective and preventive actions Sanofi is putting in place. The agency says it will inform the public if any new health risks are identified.
Health Canada also encourages Canadians to report side effects and complaints about health products through its adverse reaction reporting page.
If you have an older relative or friend who uses insulin, this is the kind of notice that is easy to miss. A short phone call to make sure they have checked with their pharmacy could save them a worry later.
This article is based on official guidance from Health Canada and is provided for general public information. It’s not a substitute for medical advice, if you have questions about how this applies to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
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Sources: Health Canada, Sanofi-Aventis Canada Inc. recalling certain insulin pens and cartridges (public advisory, Sept. 25, 2026); Health Canada, Adverse reaction reporting.
