Pfizer Recalls Some Blood Pressure Drugs, Citing Cancer Risk
Pfizer recalled some shipments of its blood pressure drug. Accuretic and authorized generic versions of the drug, stating that the carcinogenic compound exceeded the allowable daily intake. Companies have found cancer-causing impurities and triggered massive memories, especially in blood pressure drugs. In September 2020, the Food and Drug Administration called companies to look for these connections permanently. On Wednesday, the agency announced another recall related to a nitrosamine.
In 2018 FDA announced the recall of preparations containing valsartan after discovering a probable carcinogen, NDMA.
The wave of reviews followed after Valisure. The time a drugstore company that routinely tests drugs for impurities pointed to the presence of nitrosamine in ranitidine, an ingredient in Zantac’s heartburn drug. Valisura filed a petition with the FDA to expand testing after ranitidine contained a nitrosamine called N- or NDMA, which is considered a probable carcinogen.
Drugs such as metformin for people with diabetes and Chantixfor those trying to quit smoking also face recalls related to probable carcinogens.
Accuretic has relatively few users, with about 1,300 users in 2020. Its generic drug has about 192,000 users, according to analytics firm IQVIA. In 2020, the generic medicine contained the ingredients quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide, with sales of approximately $4.7 million, according to IQVIA.
Credit Food and Drug Administration
It says the benefits of taking the drug outweigh the risks, adding that it lowers blood pressure and the risk of strokes and heart attacks. The company advised patients to talk to their doctors about alternative treatment options.
On Wednesday, David Light, founder of Value, said: “It’s now more than three years since the initial discoveries of nitrosamine impurities in mainstream drugs. We continue to see ripple effects on the rise.”
He also noted that his team had found benzene, a known carcinogen, in consumer products, including sunscreens and body sprays. The FDA even faster began asking the industry to expand its tests for benzene.
