August 3, 2018.
Medicines based on valsartan manufactured by the Chinese laboratory Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals have been shown to be carcinogenic. The European Medicines Agency has just banned their marketing.
Chinese Valsartan: a low risk but no less real
If you are taking a medicine containing valsartan as the active substance, and it was manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals, you must return your medicine box to the pharmacy. This is the instruction of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The reason ? VSPoorly designed tablets could be carcinogenic.
But let’s not panic: the risk of someone really getting sick after taking these drugs is, after all, relative. The EMA estimates that out of 5,000 patients taking these tablets daily for a minimum of seven years, one more patient could develop cancer from taking these tablets.
Valsartan: alternatives exist
If you have been prescribed valsartan, do not stop your treatment: Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals is not the only company manufacturing valsartan tablets. The pharmacist will tell you and will surely dispense you an equivalent drug, manufactured by another laboratory.
Valsartan is indicated for patients suffering from blood circulation disorders (arterial hypertension, heart failure, recent heart attack, etc.). It is therefore not recommended to completely stop taking valsartan.
Anton Kunin
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