Blood Pressure meds recalled by Regulatory Agency

[Mike424u]

Just incase its not been posted as of yet.

Today in the mail on line

More than a quarter of a million packs of blood pressure drugs have been recalled in the UK.

Government agency the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency today issued a warning about losartan pills made by the company Accord.

Some of the drugs have already been on the market for two years, after first going to market as long ago as February 2017.

It is the latest in a line of drug recalls of sartan-type medications, which may have been exposed to cancer-causing chemicals in factories in China and India.

Today's is the fifth recall by the MHRA – patients are urged to not stop taking their medication unless told to by their doctor or pharmacist.

Packs of 28 of losartan pills made by the company Accord have been recalled by the UK Government amid concerns they might contain a cancer-causing chemical

The recall affects Losartan Potassium Film-coated tablets, both 50mg and 100mg, which come in packs of 28.

The expiry dates of the packets are in June 2019, November 2019 and August 2020.

A total of 264,797 packets are included in the batches, amounting to a possible total of 7.4million tablets.

Other similar drugs including irbesartan and valsartan have been recalled over the past year amid concerns about dangerous chemicals getting into them.

WHICH DRUGS ARE INCLUDED IN TODAY'S RECALL?

PRODUCT NAME

BATCH NUMBER

EXPIRY DATE

PACK SIZE

PL NUMBER

DATE OF FIRST DISTRIBUTION

Losartan Potassium 50mg Film-coated Tablets

PT04882

Nov-19

1 x 28

20075/0022

28-Mar-18

Losartan Potassium 100mg Film-coated Tablets

PT02738

Jun-19

1 x 28

20075/0023

27-Feb-17

Losartan Potassium 100mg Film-coated Tablets

GX0135

Aug-20

1 x 28

20075/0023

07-Feb-19

TIMELINE OF COMMON BLOOD PRESSURE DRUGS' RECENT RECALLS

2012 - The blood-pressure medication valsartan is thought to have been contaminated with the cancer-causing, rocket-fuel chemical NDMA as far back as 2012.

European regulators warned last year the medication's main manufacturer in China - Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical - changed its manufacturing process seven years ago, which may have been to blame.

July 5, 2018 - The UK recalled the drug over growing concerns and many EU authorities then followed suit.

The European Medicines Agency said it was working to establish how long, and at what levels, patients might have been exposed to NDMA.

July 17 - The US Food and Drug Administration ordered a ban on valsartan's prescription.

July 30 - China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said the drug must not be used for diagnosis or treatment.

January 3, 2019 - The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recalled thousands of medications containing the blood-pressure drug irbesartan over NDEA fears.

The government-run body issued an alert over four batches of the medication and pulled the products - made by Actavis, now known as Accord - as a 'precautionary measure'.

January 23, 2019 - Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc, a medicine company in the US, announced it was voluntarily recalling irbesartan and irbesartan HCTZ after finding higher levels of NDEA in them than the Food and Drug Administration permits.

January 24, 2019 - The UK's MHRA issued a further recall of three more batches of irbesartan, this time concerning 150mg and 300mg film-coated tablets supplied by Macleods Pharma UK.

March 12, 2019 - The Food and Drug Administration in the US rushed to try and approve new generic versions of valsartan amid a shortage caused by contamination problems leading to recalls.

March 21, 2019 - MHRA recalls three batches of losartan, a blood pressure medication, amid concerns it could be contaminated by a chemical known as NMBA, which has only surfaced this month in a factory in India.

This recall shows we are continuing to investigate potential contamination of sartan containing medicines.

'There is no evidence at present that medicines containing NDMA, NDEA or NMBA have caused any harm to patients and this recall is a precautionary measure.

'Because of the risk associated with suddenly stopping high blood pressure medication, continue to take your medicines as prescribed by your doctor.

'Please speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns about your medicine.'

[PMRPete]

I had some that were in the original recall list; I found the GP's and dispensers weren't one bit interested and just treated it like a joke!

[valezio in reply to PMRPete]

That’s very bad PMRPete, you need to take this further. Have you shown them the article? As your post was 6 months ago I hope you did get a response & hope you’re ok. I’ve just been switched to Losartan Potassium, also take Adizem. Losartan was given as Ramipril was causing problems. Take care xxx

[Celtic]

Thank you for the ‘heads up’, Mike. I rushed to check my latest supply and found it was the Accord brand but luckily with an expiry date in 2021, so not one of those listed in your post. I always have the TEVA brand but TEVA Losartan has disappeared from the shelves of pharmacies during the last few months with the latest information being that it will be back some time during April. I have therefore been supplied with Alma’s and Accord brands instead. It is very unusual for TEVA Losartan to be unavailable (I’ve been taking it for a number of years) and I do feel somewhat suspicious especially in view of all the recalls of ....sartans over recent months. I did contact the TEVA UK distributor a few weeks ago and the excuse I was given for it being unavailable was that there had been an unusually high demand for it! I always hate taking any of the pills I’m on, and to hear all the recent news about the possibility of them containing cancer-causing ingredients is quite unsettling. As it is, I seem to get all the downsides of medications and none of the benefits! Thank goodness for bodies like the MHRA.

[R1100S1]

So should we get a request to exchange or do we do it ourselves?

[Mike424u in reply to R1100S1]

Please speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns about your medicine.'

[R1100S1]

Will be doing as I was given the August 20 packs this week from my local Lloyds!!!

[FeetheBookworm]

Thanks for the info. I’ve been taking these for the last 3 1/2yrs. Current ones are dated 02/2021. However have been taking these since being diagnosed with HF in Sep 2016. Having had breast cancer and also skin cancer could do without anything else to think about.

[not2worry]

Here in the States we have an arduous process by the Government to approve any drug. Then it gets approved and patented. Once the patent expires the pharma industry make a generic and go to cheap labor markets like China, India and Mexico to have it manufactured with little or no oversight.

I wonder how many have died from cancer while taking meds to fight their CAD.

No one held accountable!

[R1100S1]

Contacted my local Lloyd’s they are sending a driver to pick up unused tabs and delivering replacement!!