USA TODAY International Edition
More common blood pressure meds recalled
A generic drug company has recalled three commonly prescribed blood pressure medications over concerns they could include small amounts of a cancer-causing impurity.
The recalled drugs all include the blood-pressure medication valsartan, the subject of a series of recalls by several drug companies since July.
The generic drug company Mylan Pharmaceuticals recalled 104 lots of three medications: valsartan tablets, combination tablets with the drugs valsartan and amlodipine, and combination tablets with valsartan and hydro ch lo roth iazi de.
Testing revealed that valsartan contained trace amounts of N-n it ros odie thy la mine, or NDEA, a possible human carcinogen, the company said. Amlodipine and hydro ch lo roth iazi de in standalone form are not subject to there call.
Alternative medications are available. Mylan said patients should consult their doctor or pharmacist before stopping their current medication.
Throughout the recalls, doctors have said that stopping a medication without a replacement drug could cause a patient more harm than continuing the drug. People with questions about the recall can call 888-406-9305.
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cause of the contaminated drugs, traced to a large factory in China and then to a second factory in India. They used a similar manufacturing process to make and supply valsartan to generic drug companies worldwide.
“We still don’t understand the complete root cause of this,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “We understand part of it. We don’t understand all of the steps that led to this.”