The Food and Drug Administration has recently recalled a number of blood pressure medications after discovering that they contained potential cancer-causing contaminants. Other lots of losartan as well as other drugs from several manufacturers have been recalled voluntarily in recent months as well due to contamination from other chemicals. The drugs from Torrent, with lot numbers listed on the FDA website were believed to be contaminated with “unacceptable” amounts of N-methylnitrosobutyric acid or NMBA, a potential human carcinogen. Losartan, a blood pressure medication in the angiotensin II receptor blocker ARB class, helps reduce blood pressure by preventing blood vessels from narrowing or constricting. Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited said it suspects that contamination is related to manufacturing at a specific site and is therefore working on “manufacturing and distributing new pills without the contaminant. The rep urged that anyone who is taking these medications should call Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited at The company has shared that they will take back contaminated medications and provide refunds. Over the past year, the FDA has recalled multiple blood pressure medications from several manufacturers after discovering potential carcinogens in some batches. The investigation is ongoing and the FDA continues to update the list of medications being recalled here.
If you take one of the medications potentially affected by the recall, you should first contact your pharmacy and ask whether your dispensed medication was from one of the lots impacted by the recall. As many as two million people may have been exposed to these impurities. However, not all lots of these medications are affected and being recalled. Recalled medications can be identified by checking the product name, manufacturer details, and batch or lot number on the bottle or packaging. One of the biggest tools we have to fight health conditions is the power of human connection. A company in China that supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients APIs to drug manufacturers that make ARB medications informed the FDA that nitrosamine impurities were present in ingredients used to make valsartan.
Over the past several months, you may have heard that the FDA has recalled certain lots of angiotensin II receptor blocker ARB medications due to the presence of impurities. These contaminants — nitrosamine impurities — may occur as a byproduct of the manufacturing process. These substances are found in the environment as well in meats, dairy products, and water, but their presence in medications is not acceptable. Therefore, the FDA sets acceptable safety limits on the presence of these impurities in drugs. ARBs have been in use since the s and are still widely used today. They effectively lower blood pressure, and also reduce deaths and complications related to heart failure and chronic kidney disease associated with diabetes. The ARBs potentially affected by the current recall include losartan Cozaar, valsartan Diovan, Prexxartan, and irbesartan Avapro, for which 61 million prescriptions were written in the US in alone. These also include some combination tablets that contain valsartan or irbesartan.