Blood Pressure Drug Recall Expands Again; Meds May Be Tainted With Cancer-Causing Chemical

(CNN) — The US Food and Drug Administration says another heart medicine is being voluntarily recalled after tests showed that it was tainted with a potential cancer-causing chemical. The recall includes one lot of Sandoz’s losartan potassium hydrochlorothiazide 100 milligram/25 milligram tablets with the lot number JB8912. Patients use these drugs to keep their high blood pressure in check. The drug is being recalled because the active ingredient has tested positive for 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. The ingredient was made by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Company Co. Ltd. The FDA placed the Chinese company on an import alert at the end of September, meaning all of its active pharmaceutical products and finished products will not be permitted to enter the United States. The FDA made that decision after an inspection of the facility. Several pills that contain valsartan, another drug used by heart patients, 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 is a byproduct of manufacturing some pesticides and processing fish. It can be unintentionally introduced into manufac...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Consumer Health News Local TV Valsartan Source Type: news