A pharmaceutical supplier is recalling another lot of the heart and blood pressure drugs that contain a known carcinogen. Last week, Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging announced a recall of 3 lots of medication and that has been expanded to include more blood pressure meds.

Legacy acts as an intermediary between drug manufacturers and retail pharmacies. The recall was expanded due to the addition of Torrent Pharmaceuticals’ nationwide voluntary recall of Losartan Tabs.

According to the FDA it is:

“. . .due to the detection of trace amounts of N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-amino butyric acid (NMBA) a possible process impurity or contaminant in an active pharmaceutical ingredient, manufactured by Hetero Labs Limited. NMBA is a potential human carcinogen.”

As you can see, number of manufacturers are involved the recalled products, and this is the latest set of medications being investigated by the FDA for possible harmful contaminants. Others that have been recalled since July include valsartan and losartan.

The FDA has temporarily allowed pharmacies to distribute some of these drugs until manufacturers make versions that do not contain impurities. This is so patients can continue to receive necessary treatments with disruption.

Here is a list of the medications affected by this recall:

• Losartan Potassium Tabs, 50 mg, 30 count. Lot #180190. Expires 10/20
• Losartan Potassium Tabs, 50 mg, 30 count. Lot #180191. Expires 10/20
• Losartan Potassium Tabs, 50 mg, 30 count. Lot #180597. Expires 02/21
• Losartan Potassium Tabs, 50 mg, 30 count. Lot #180598. Expires 02/21

Do you have any of these medications in your household? Were you aware of the recalls?