American pharma giant Pfizer, has recalled nearly five batches of its hypertension drugs with the name Accupril. The recall has been announced after it discovered that the drugs contain chemicals that can cause cancer. Pfizer announced the recall after a research had found that the batches of the drug had contained increased levels of an agent that can cause cancer. The contaminating agent has been identified as nitrosamine and the announcement was made on March 22, 2022 and involves five batches of drugs that contains 90 bottles each.
As per the Pfizer press release, the drugs recalled were distributed in the United States and Puerto Rico between December 2019 and April 2022. The company in the press release also described the recall as voluntary. Per bottle contains 90 pills and are prescribed in 10 mg, 20mg and 40 mg doses. The retailer can break down in to smaller amounts. A similar recall was announced by Pfizer in Canada and had said that the impurity in the drugs was above acceptable levels. To this the Canadian government had released a statement that assured that people who ingest nitrosamine at acceptable levels or below for 70 years then they are not expected to have any risk of cancer.
On the other hand the company has also assured that there is no immediate risk to the patients who are already taking the drugs. The chemical compound nitrosamine is common in water and even foods like smoked and cured meats and dairy products. But too much of exposure above the acceptable levels in a long run could increase the risk of cancer. The drug Accupril works by bringing down the chemicals that narrow the blood vessels which allows a proper flow of blood. Some of the common side effects of drugs include joint pain, muscle pain, light sensitivity, dizziness and dry cough.
This is the second recall by Pfizer as it had also recalled the blood pressure drug Accuretic in March 2022 due to increased levels of nitrosamine.
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