By Ma. Teresa Montemayor/PNA
MANILA — An official of the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Philippines will pull out maintenance drugs for blood pressure if found contaminated with harmful components.
“They (FDA) are already checking if Sandoz has Losartan from the same batch here in the Philippines. If so, they (the drugs) will be pulled out,” DOH Undersecretary Rolando Domingo told Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a text message.
Sandoz is the pharmaceutical company which manufactures Losartan, a famous maintenance drug used by many Filipinos with high blood pressure.
On November 8, FDA United States issued a statement, saying many pharmaceutical companies recalled Losartan Potassium Hydrochlorothiazide Tablets after tests showed that it contained a trace of an impurity called N-nitrosodiethylamine.
“This impurity, which is a substance that occurs naturally in certain foods, drinking water, air pollution, and industrial processes, has been classified as a probable human carcinogen as per International Agency for Research on Cancer,” the statement read.
