The Blood Times | 5 Chinese blood pressure medications contain carcinogenic impurities and 30,000 patients have been affected.

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On June 6, the Department of Health ordered two licensed drug wholesalers, Actvies (Hong Kong) Limited and Hong Kong Lian Pharmaceuticals Limited (Hong Kong Link), to recover five valsartan on the market. Pharmaceutical products, as a precaution, because the relevant raw materials contained impurities.

The products concerned are:
Valtensin 160 mg tablets
Valtensin 80 mg tablets
Valtensin HCT tablets 160 / 12.5 mg
Valtensin HCT tablets 80 / 12.5 mg
Valsartan Stada 80 Mg Pills

The Ministry of Health, through its monitoring system, learned that a Chinese manufacturer of valsartan contained impurities such as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), whose ingredient main is the main ingredient of some pharmaceutical products. Impurities are clbadified as potentially carcinogenic substances on the basis of laboratory tests.

To date, the above-mentioned products registered in Hong Kong have been determined by the wholesaler to contain the affected raw materials. The survey of the Ministry of Health is still ongoing. According to preliminary studies by the Chinese manufacturer, NDMA is linked to its production method in the raw materials of valsartan.

The product containing valsartan is a prescription drug for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure, with a single component and a product combining other major components.

According to information provided by Actavis and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the above-mentioned products were supplied to local private doctors and pharmacies. Among them, Valtensin tablets 80 mg and 160 mg are also available at the hospital authority.The Ministry of Health has not received reports of adverse effects involving the above-mentioned products .

The HA said that in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Health and at the same time cautious, the HA has advised the public hospitals to stop the prescription drugs and to take other appropriate drugs . The health authority said that after the badessment of the expert, the continued use of the drug posed no immediate risk to the patient. Experts believe that it is necessary to balance the risk of continuing to take the drug and to stop the drug.For patients, if the drug is stopped, it may aggravate the condition.Therefore It is recommended that the patient who has been prescribed does not need to stop taking the medication.

The HA has continued to prescribe approximately 30,000 patients in public hospitals for this type of blood pressure medication, which will evaluate and prescribe blood pressure medications when the patient returns to the outpatient clinic next time.

(Photo of the Government Information Office)

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