The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting patients and health care professionals to another recall of medications used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure due to the presence of a potential cancer-causing substance.
Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. is voluntarily recalling two lots of Valsartan tablets, 26 lots of amlodipine and Valsartan combination tablets, and 52 lots of Valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) combination tablets.
The drugs are being recalled "due to the detection of trace amounts of an unexpected impurity found in the finished drug product," according to a press release from the FDA.
The impurity detected in the finished drug product is N-nitrosodiethylamine, or NDEA, which has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
NDEA is a substance that occurs naturally in certain foods, drinking water, air pollution and industrial processes.
To date, there haven't been any reports of adverse reactions to the medications related to this recall.
People taking these medications should continue to do so until they consult a pharmacist or physician who can advise them about an alternative treatment, the recall states.
The list of Valsartan products under recall can be found here and the list of Valsartan products not under recall can be found here .