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THOUSANDS of patients with high blood pressure and congestive heart failure will be forced to switch to a significantly more expensive drug after a generic drug has been removed from the market.
The Valsartan, made in China, was removed from the shelves of Bahrain yesterday after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed that it contained harmful ingredients that could lead to cancer.
In a statement released yesterday, the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) ordered all agents to withdraw the product from the market, adding that a recall notice was distributed to all hospitals and pharmacies in the country.
Valsartan is a copy of Diovan, manufactured by the Swiss company Novartis, which is available on the local market and in public health facilities. about 80% more than generics.
"(The recall) is due to a problem with a preliminary manufacturing product in these drugs, which is impure a D could cause cancer if it is used for a long time – hence the Early Warning, "said Dr. Maryam Al Jalahma, NHRA Managing Director, to the newspaper .
" Those from China will be removed and destroyed in Bahrain, while others, from Switzerland, will be put back on the market. "
Bahrain is one of 22 countries having received about 2,300 lots Dr. Al Jalahma however argued that the public had no reason to panic.
"People do not have to panic because no effect will be caused by panic." The company withdrew it as soon as they realized that the problem and the reminder was to hold back the ### 39; future effect of the drug, but using it for a while. could cause no side effects. "
Nov artis, the company that developed the original drug under the name Diovan, stated that Sandoz Valsartan and Valsartan / HCT film-coated tablets were recalled because they did not meet our" high quality standards. "
A representative of Yousuf Mahmood Husain, Novartis distributors in Bahrain said that the safety of their products was proven by international regulators.
"We are the manufacturers of the original Valsartan, under the trade name Diovan on the market, which is provided to all public health facilities, including The Salmaniya Medical Complex, BDF Hospital and King Hamad University Hospital, "he said.
" These drugs are safe, while the recalled drugs are a generic of this product. "
to GDN yesterday that up to 20 percent of their heart patients took Valsartan, which costs BD6 while Diovan costs BD11.
" Over 1,000 "This means that they will have to resort to the original or other generic drugs available, as guided by their doctors, "he said.
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Other countries where Valsartan has been recalled are Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, Poland, Croatia. Lithuania, Greece, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malta.
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