Valsartan recall expanded because of cancer concern

Valsartan recall expanded because of cancer concern The US Food and Drug Administ...

Valsartan recall expanded because of cancer concern

The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the list of drugs being recalled that contain valsartan. The drug is used as a component in a set of drugs used to treat heart failure and blood pressure.

New to the list are some valsartan products manufactured by Hetero Labs Ltd. in India, which are labeled as Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc. Test results show that some of the products may be tainted.

The FDA announced a valsartan recall in July after lab tests revealed that some drugs could have been tainted with a substance linked to higher risk of cancer. The drug had been recalled in 22 other countries . The expanded recall includes some drugs that contain valsartan and hydrochlorothisazide. Not all of the drugs containing valsartan were affected.

N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, the impurity the lab tests found, is considered a possible carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It is an organic chemical that has been used to make liquid rocket fuel, and it can be unintentionally introduced through certain chemical reactions. It’s a byproduct of the manufacturing of some pesticides and fish processing.

The medicines that are now a part of this expanded list in the recall are tablets sold by AvKare, A-S Medication Solutions LLC, Bryant Ranch Prepack Inc, Camber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. H J Harkins Company, Northwind Pharmaceuticals, NuCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc. (labeled as Solco Healthcare LLC), Proficient Rx LP, Remedy Repack, Teva Pharmaceuticals (labeled as Major Pharmaceuticals), Teva Pharmaceuticals USA (labeled as Actavis).

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The FDA also published a list of valsartan products that are not currently recalled. Only the drugs suspected of being tainted with NDMA are on the recall list. If you are taking a valsartan drug, look for the company name on your prescription bottle. If the information isn’t on the label, you can call your pharmacy for those details.

The recalled medicine is linked to a manufacturer in China. The substances were supplied by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals, based in Linhai, in eastern China, which said it notified authorities as soon as it identified the impurity.

“We published our recall notice at midday on July 13 in China and overseas, and published the US market recall notice on July 14 Beijing time … all the drug materials for the Chinese market were recalled by July 23,” the company said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange last month.

The FDA said on its website that it’s working with drug manufacturers “to ensure future valsartan active pharmaceutical ingredients are not at risk.”

If you are worried that your drug could be on the recall list, talk with your doctor or pharmacist before changing any routine with your medicine. Because not all valsartan drugs are involved in the recall, they might be able to switch you to a version of the drug made by another company.

If you know your drug is on the recall list, the FDA suggests you continue taking it until your doctor or pharmacist provides a replacement.

To get a sense of what taking a tainted drug could mean, FDA scientists estimated that if 8,000 people took the highest dose of valsartan (320 milligrams) from the recalled batches every day for four years, there may be one additional case of c ancer.

“The key with this is, patients should not stop taking their medication abruptly, that definitely can be harmful,” Dr. Mary Ann Bauman, a representative for the American Heart Association, said in July. “You don’t want to jump to any conclusions on your own about this medication, or any medication for that matter. Definitely talk with your doctor first.”

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Valsartan recall: 4 things patients should know Several common drugs that contain valsartan, used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, have been recalled in the United States due to an “impurity” in the drug that poses a potential cancer risk.

That impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA, is classified as a probable human carcinogen, based on results from lab tests.

The medicines included in the voluntary recall are valsartan from Major Pharmaceuticals, Solco Healthcare and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, as well as valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide from Solco and Teva.< /p>

The recall was updated Thursday to include some valsartan products manufactured by Hetero Labs Ltd. in India, which are labeled as Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc. Test results showed that some of the products may be tainted.

Valsartan is off patent and is used as a component of other generic medicines, but not all medicines containing the ingredient are involved in the recall.

The US Food and Drug Administration noted in a news release that “the presence of NDMA was unexpected” and thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.

“Our drug shortages team is also working hard to ensure patients’ therapeutic needs are met in the United States with an adequate supply of unaffected medications,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in the statement.

The FDA action came after 22 other countries issued recalls involving 2,300 valsartan batches sent to Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, Poland, Croatia, Lithuania, Greece, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bahrain and Malta.

Now, the US recall has left some patients who take valsartan-containing drugs scratching their heads over what to do about their treatment regimens.

“Their biggest concern is about their risk of cancer and better understanding how concerned they should be,” said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women’s cardiovascular prevention, health and wellness at Mount Sinai in New York and a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.

“They are asking if there is any testing that should be done. Patients are now asking if they should only request ‘brand-name’ medication instead of generic in order to make sure that this doesn’t happen. Lastly, they all want to stop the medication,” Steinbaum said, noting that’s not the correct action to take.

Experts offered four main takeaways for patient s in the wake of the recall.

Not all valsartan drugs have the ‘impurity’

In general, not all medications containing valsartan are included in the recall, because not all valsartan-containing medicines were provided the valsartan supply linked to the NDMA “impurity.”

Since the recall, the external supplier linked to the problem has stopped distributing its valsartan ingredient, and the FDA has been working with the affected companies to reduce the chances of such a recall occurring in future products, according to the agency.

In the meantime, “there are other medications that contain valsartan, some in combination with amlodipine, and those do not appear to be part of the recall,” said Dr. Gregory Prokopowicz, director of the Johns Hopkins Hypertension Center and assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Amlodipine can be used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood p ressure and chest pain.

“It’s also important to know that the medication Entresto â€" that’s made by Novartis that contains valsartan and sacubitril and is for heart failure â€" is not affected by the recall,” he said. “So patients taking that medication should not stop their medication.”

The recall does not affect any Novartis or Sandoz valsartan products in the United States or any Novartis Pharma products that contain valsartan, according to a statement from the company.

“The valsartan API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) in these products does not come from the same source as those products affected outside the United States,” the statement said, as specific batches of Sandoz valsartan and Sandoz valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide film-coated tablets were recalled outside the US this month.

Patients in the US taking those valsartan medications or Diovan, Diovan HCT, Exforge, Exforge HCT or Entresto should continue as directed by their physicians, the statement said.

The FDA noted that patients should look at the drug name and company name on the labels of their prescription bottles to determine whether their medicine has been recalled. If the information is not on the bottle, patients should call their pharmacy for those details.

Valsartan alternatives are available

“Patients taking the recalled valsartan-containing medicines should consult their doctor or pharmacist and continue taking their medicine until they have a replacement product,” Steinbaum said.

“The conditions the medication treat â€" heart failure and high blood pressure â€" are serious, and patients could be harmed if they suddenly stop taking it without a replacement prescription,” she said.

A health care professional could help provide information about other valsartan-containing products or alternative treatment options.

Patients “could switch to a different generic manufacturer. Or they coul d switch to another medication in the same class of drugs. The class of drugs is known as angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs,” Prokopowicz said.

“There are eight drugs on the market in that category. So there’s a number of drugs to which they could be switched, other than valsartan. Examples are losartan, irbesartan, olmesartan, and there are a number of others,” he said. “In addition to the ARB drugs, there are many, many other blood pressure drugs that could be easily and safely substituted for valsartan, even outside of that category. So it varies from patient to patient.”

Those patients who have switched to a different drug should monitor their blood pressure closely, said Dr. Erin Michos, an associate professor and associate director of preventive cardiology at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“It is possible their blood pressure might respond differently to the new medication and doses might need to be adjusted under the guidance of their health c are provider,” said Michos, whose own patients have been asking her about the valsartan recall.

“Whenever changing or adjusting new blood pressure medications, I recommend that patients keep a log with their blood pressure numbers and time of day the measurement was taken, and share this log with their health care provider to review and make adjustments,” she said. “I am mostly just switching my patients off valsartan to another ARB; that is the easiest solution.”

What is the valsartan cancer risk?

As of now, the long-term risks posed by the NDMA found in certain valsartan-containing drugs remain somewhat unknown, and the amount of NDMA consumed would play a role in those risks, Michos said.

In other words, “the dose makes the poison,” she said.

“What we know about the dangers of this impurity comes primarily from laboratory studies. It is a toxin that can affect the liver and cause liver fibrosis or scarring and liver tumors in r ats. So it is assumed to be toxic to humans, as well,” Michos said.

“In these animal studies, they usually give large quantities, so again, the risk is likely not the same equivalent in humans,” she said.

NDMA, an organic chemical that forms in both industrial and natural processes, has been used to make liquid rocket fuel, softeners and lubricants, among other products. It can also be unintentionally produced through certain chemical reactions and is a byproduct from some pesticide manufacturing, the making of rubber tires or fish processing.

Exposure to high levels of NDMA may cause liver damage in humans, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

“I definitely am switching my patients off this medication if supplied by one of the affected companies,” Michos said. “I am certainly concerned, but I think it is too soon to panic. This recall is a precaution for safety.”

To put the recall in perspective, Dr. Howard Weintraub, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health, said that he told his patients about a meta-analysis study on angiotensin receptor blockers in general and cancer risk.

That study, published in the journal Medicine in 2016, involved analyzing data from 19 randomized controlled trials including 148,334 patients.

“Looking at all of those trials that were conducted with a variety of these medications within the ARB family, there was no hint of a cancer risk,” said Weintraub, who was not involved in the study.

“It was a very well-done analysis of older trials, and there was no ambiguity that there was not a signal of cancer risk,” he said.

‘Taking medicines is not a substitute for a good lifestyle’

Overall, the conversation around valsartan-containing medications is a reminder for patients to be mindful of maintaining healthy habits along with their medication regimen, Weintraub said.

It’s important to continue ta king prescriptions provided by your doctor, but “taking medicines is not a substitute for a good lifestyle,” he said.

“You and your health care physician or practitioner should work together on making sure that you keep an eye on your weight. Keep an eye on your diet, particularly your salt intake, and try to exercise regularly,” he said. “Each of those individually and together can have a significant impact on your blood pressure.”

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Source: Google News US Health | Netizen 24 United States