Another recall of blood pressure and heart medication for possibly cancerous ingredient
The recall stream pulling prescription drugs Losartan and Valsartan out of pharmacies continued Thursday when Torrent Pharmaceuticals recalled two lots of Losartan potassium tablets.
Lots BO31C016 and 4DKC005, made by Hetero Labs Limited, contain what the company-written, FDA-posted recall notice calls “trace amounts of an unexpected impurity found in an active pharmaceutical ingredient.” That “impurity” is N-nitrosodiethylamine or NDEA, a naturally occurring substance that the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies as a possible cancer causer in people.
What NDEA definitely has caused is the run of recalls that began in July.
As companies warned in previous Losartan recalls, Torrant advises Losartan users to talk to their doctor or pharmacist about other treatments before stopping or returning these tablets, because “...the risk of harm to the patient’s health may be higher if the treatment is stopped immediately without any alternative treatment.”
All the recalled tablets are 100mg with an expiration date of April 2019. Under lot No. BO31C016 are 30-count and 90-count bottles. Lot No. 4DKC005 has 1000-count bottles.
Anyone with questions can call 1-800-912-9561 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern time, 1-888-280-2040, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time or email Medinfo.Torrent@apceris.com.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 8:18 PM.
