WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legacy Pharmaceutical Packing, the packing company for losartan high blood pressure medication, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced another recall for the drug because the pill contained a possible carcinogenic substance according to the U.S.A Today. The notice of the recall was made public on April 24, 2019, according to […]
Carcinogen Found in High Blood Pressure Meds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legacy Pharmaceutical Packing, the packing company for losartan high blood pressure medication, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced another recall for the drug because the pill contained a possible carcinogenic substance according to the U.S.A Today. The notice of the recall was made public on April 24, 2019, according to a press release published by the FDA. The lot of losartan that is the subject of this recall was shipped to Kroger Co. pharmacies by Legacy Pharmaceutical Packing.
Legacy Pharmaceutical Packing packages the medications that drug companies manufacture. Legacy then sends the final product to retail outlets. The drug maker Torrent Pharmaceuticals manufactures and produces losartan. However, Legacy issued the latest recall of one lot of the drug due to perceptible amounts of a carcinogenic compound observed in the drug. The compound is identified as NMBA. The U.S. FDA allows drug manufacturers to ship drugs to the consumer with some NMBA contained in the pill. Notwithstanding, the agency issued the recall because the amount of NMBA found in this lot of losartan was higher than permitted.
USA Today did not report why Legacy Packaging issued the recall and not Torrent Pharmaceuticals. Torrent Pharmaceuticals announced a recall of 104 lots during April of 2019. Additionally, Legacy recalled three lots of the drug in March of 2019. The current recall is one lot of losartan potassium, 30-count tablets. Legacy will notify consumers about the recall and educate them about the procedures established to facilitate the recall.
Losartan belongs to a class of drugs that work to lower a patient’s blood pressure by widening the blood vessels, thereby allowing blood to flow smoothly and is one of the ten most frequently prescribed medicines in the U.S. The FDA allows small amounts of NMBA in the drug after determining that trace amounts will not cause cancer. This move gives high blood pressure sufferers a chance to take their medicine rather than stopping altogether because doing so can cause severe health risks.
