By Madeline Farber | Fox News September
20, 2019
A division of Novartis, a pharmaceutical company based in
Switzerland, has halted shipments of generic versions of the heartburn
medication Zantac after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently
announced it found trace amounts of a potentially cancer-causing chemical in the product.
Sandoz, a division of Novartis, has halted the worldwide
distribution of its generic version of Zantac, a popular heartburn medication.
In a statement to Fox 11, Dana Kahn Cooper, a spokesperson for Novartis, said
that a “precautionary distribution stop of all Sandoz ranitidine-containing
medicines in all our markets will remain in place under further clarification.”
“This includes capsules in the USA,” she added.
Ranitidine is a drug that can treat and prevent heartburn by
reducing the amount of acid the stomach produces. Ranitidine is often sold
under the brand name Zantac.
Late last week, the FDA announced it had “learned that some ranitidine
medicines, including some products commonly known as the brand-name drug
Zantac, contain a nitrosamine impurity called N-Methylnitrosobutyric
acid (NDMA) at low levels.”
NDMA, per the federal agency, is a probable human carcinogen,
meaning it could cause cancer.
That said, the FDA is not yet recommending people who take
ranitidine stop the medication. More information is needed before a recall
is announced or the agency recommends users to stop taking it.
“People taking OTC ranitidine could consider using other OTC
medicines approved for their condition,” the agency said. “There are multiple
drugs on the market that are approved for the same or similar uses as
ranitidine.”
The news comes after certain blood pressure medications were
recalled earlier this year after the same possible cancer-causing ingredient was detected in the
tablets.
https://www.foxnews.com/health/generic-zantac-cancer-distribution-halt
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