Teva Pharmaceuticals, on Friday, announced it is recalling its blood pressure medication, Losartan Potassium USP. All 35 lots of the drug, which includes 100 mg and 25mg doses, will be pulled off the shelves.

Teva is the latest to join several pharmaceutical companies which have initiated this action over the presence of cancer-causing agents in medications. The impurity, N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-amino butyric acid (NMBA), has been detected in one of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in the drug. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has hinted the impurity could have crept in due to “changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.”

On Thursday, Torrent Pharmaceuticals had announced its fourth recall of blood pressure medication since December. This includes more than 30 lots of Blood Pressure drug, losartan Potassium Tablets USP and more than 60 lots of Losartan Potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets USP were recalled due to discovery of impurity.

In fact, since July, the presence of NMBA and another potential carcinogen, N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), have forced several pharma manufacturers to take corrective action. In February, Camber Pharmaceuticals & Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited had pulled their Losartan brands off the shelves over presence of NDEA. Since August, after FDA flagged potential NDEA contamination in another blood pressure medication, Valsartan, several companies like Major Pharmaceuticals, Solco Healthcare, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, the Japanese subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. and Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. had recalled their medications.

Experts say the recall of these drugs should not affect patients due to the availability of other brands of Valsartan in the market. When contacted, officials at Teva urged patients not to stop taking the recalled blood pressure medicines abruptly without first seeking a doctor’s advice on alternatives. It has been emphasized that the risks of stopping medication without consultation are potentially greater than the feared effects from the presence of carcinogens.

Source: https://industryupdates24.com/628/yet-another-bp-drug-recalled-recent-study/