A blood pressure drug is being urgently recalled due to the risk of causing ‘health consequences’ to anybody who takes it.
A batch of valsartan, a blood pressure drug made by Novartis under the brand name Diovan is being recalled because of failed dissolution specifications.
Diovan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker used to treat hypertension and heart failure.
It can also be prescribed to patients after suffering a heart attack.
The US Food and Drug Administration has labelled the notice a Class II recall, which means exposure to the drug may lead to “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences.”
These consequences are not expected to last after patients stop taking the drug, however they are likely to be harmful.
The batch that are being recalled are labelled AV5913C and include packages of 90 160-mg tablets that expire in June 2027.
They were manufactured by Pantheon Manufacturing Services in Greenville, North Carolina, and distributed by Novartis Pharmaceutical Corp. in Hanover, New Jersey.
According to the FDA the drugs were distributed nationwide in the US.
The recall was initially made by Novartis on August 4.
In the UK there is currently a shortage of the country’s most-prescribed blood pressure drug.
According to MediWatch’s review on August 4 Ramipril 1.25mg capsules there is a ‘serious shortage’ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) issued a Serious Shortage Protocol on April 22 and extended it beyond May 29, which limits community pharmacies to dispensing a maximum of one month’s supply per prescription, even for those who usually have prescriptions for up to three months.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
