FDA Announces Recall Of Another Heart Medicine For Possible Cancer Risk

(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration is alerting patients of another recall of medicine used to treat high blood pressure, for a potential cancer risk due to contamination. This time, SciGen is recalling certain lots of irbesartan. The recalled lot will have “Westminster Pharmaceuticals” and “GSMS Inc.” on the label, according to the FDA list. Another heart medicine, valsartan, has also been recalled recently due to contamination. Irbesartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker, or ARB. This is a drug that blocks a potent chemical in the blood called anigiotensin, which causes muscles surrounding blood vessels to contract from binding with angiotensin II receptors. When the chemical binds, it narrows the vessels, and that can cause high blood pressure. FDA tests showed that the recalled lots of these drugs contained N-Nitrosodiethylamine or NDEA, a suspected human and animal carcinogen that is used in gasoline as a stabilizer for industry materials and as a lubricant additive, according to the National Institutes of Health. This is the first non-valsartan drug product that the agency has found to contain the NDEA impurity. Several pills that contain valsartan have been under a recall since July. The drugs were tainted with NDEA or NDMA, N-nitrosodimethylamine, an impurity that is also considered a possible carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency. NDMA is an organic chemical used to make liquid rocket fuel and a byproduct of m...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News Local TV Recall Source Type: news