The Ministry of Health and Prevention of the UAE has withdrawn from sale a number of drugs for pressure.
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention ordered the sale of a number of antihypertensive drugs containing the active substance valsartan, supplied by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals from China. This order is due to the fact that dangerous impurities were found in the drugs.
Authorities took such a step after a report by the European Medicines Agency, which dealt with the discovery of nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) impurities in the active ingredient of the drug, a chemical that can cause cancer.
Valsartan is used to treat hypertension and prevent cardiovascular complications.
The Ministry of Health explained that drugs from other manufacturers containing valsartan made using the same active ingredient are safe to use.
So the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis reported that their preparations containing valsartan, Diovan, Co-Diovan Entresto and Exforge are not dangerous, since they do not contain active components from external suppliers.
