Common blood pressure pills found to be contaminated by cancer-causing chemical

Varlsartan, a widely prescribed drug made in China, and which has been used across the world for 15 years, has been recalled and production stopped after it was found to contain a carcinogen.

Investigators found a chemical called N-Nitrosodimethylamine, used in rocket fuel, and which is thought to be carcinogenic, which had contaminated the drug’s production at Zhejiang Huahai, a Chinese supplier which ships the medicine worldwide.

Experts have said the contamination could date back to 2012, which is when the company changed its manufacturing process, and which suggests that many patients could potentially have been exposed to a cancer risk.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which first voiced their concern over the drug, said it was working to determine how long and at what levels patients may have been exposed to the impurity.

The case has highlighted the reliance internationally on medicines containing active pharmaceutical ingredients made in China.

Regulators have increased their oversight of foreign factories to ensure the quality of drugs made in China and India, which is another large supplier to international drug markets.

However, the issue remains a work in progress, as stressed by Guido Rasi, executive director of the EMA, who recently said “We need to think globally and work strategically with partners from around the world to make best use of our inspection capacity, so that patients can rely on the quality, safety and efficacy of all medicines, no matter where they have been manufactured.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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