Europe recalls generic heart drug made in China on cancer fears
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LONDON (Reuters) – Various hypertension and heart medication containing an ingredient made in China are being recalled throughout Europe after an impurity that will trigger cancer was discovered in them, officers mentioned on Thursday.
The European Medicines Agency mentioned the recall adopted identification of the impurity in the lively substance valsartan manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals, an organization in Linhai, China.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Agency mentioned the looks of the impurity – N-nitrosodimethylamine – got here after a change in the method for making valsartan at one facility.
Valsartan was initially developed by Novartis and the Swiss firm marketed it as Diovan, however it’s now off patent and is used in quite a few generic medicines.
European regulators mentioned they have been working collectively to research the extent of the difficulty.
Reuters couldn’t instantly attain Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals for remark exterior of normal enterprise hours.
Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter
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