Boots and Morrisons’ own versions of Zantac are recalled as ANOTHER drug firm pulls batches of the heartburn medication amid fears they may contain a cancer-causing chemical
- Perrigo Company supplies ranitidine – the generic form of the heartburn drug
- But the pharmaceutical firm has announced a recall of eight types of its drug
- The recall includes two Boots-branded and one Morrisons-branded versions
- It is feared some pills may contain traces of NDMA, or N-nitrosodimethylamine
Boots and Morrisons have today been told to recall their own-brand versions of Zantac amid fears they may contain a cancer-causing chemical.
Perrigo Company supplies ranitidine – the generic form of the branded heartburn drug – to both of the British retail giants, as well as several others.
But the pharmaceutical firm has now announced a recall of eight types of its drug, including two Boots-branded and one Morrisons-branded versions.
Galpharm and Kirkland’s medications have also been affected, and so have two other forms of the most-recognised brand Zantac that Perrigo produces.
It is feared some ranitidine pills may contain traces of NDMA, or N-nitrosodimethylamine – a chemical considered to be carcinogenic to humans.
Major American retailers including Walmart and Walgreens have already pulled Zantac – and generic forms – from their shelves because of the cancer fears.
Perrigo Company supplies ranitidine – the generic form of the branded heartburn drug – to both of the British retail giants, as well as several others
But the pharmaceutical firm has now announced a recall of eight types of its drug, including two Boots-branded and one Morrisons-branded versions
And other Zantac distributors in the UK, such as GlaxoSmithKline and Teva, have voluntarily recalled versions of their drugs over the same NDMA concern.
The latest alert, from Dublin-based Perrigo Company, was sent out by a UK watchdog which polices the safety of drugs.
One of the drugs that has been recalled is prescription-only. The rest are available over-the-counter, according to the alert.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said companies have been asked to quarantine all affected batches.
The Government-run body added there is no evidence NDMA causes harm to patients and that the Perrigo recall is only ‘precautionary’.
Spokesperson Dr Andrew Gray also urged patients to keep taking ranitidine and seek medical advice before stopping any prescribed medication.
Concerns that ranitidine contained traces of NDMA first emerged in June when US-based pharmacy Valisure first discovered it in some of its Zantac products.
The FDA issued a warning about the impurity on September 13, and launched an investigation alongside European officials to determine the risk to patients.
It is unclear how long the fault dates back to – but some blood pressure pills recalled earlier this year due to a similar impurity had already been on the market for two years.
Valisure’s initial research found that NDMA was the result of the ‘inherent instability’ of the ranitidine molecule.
It claims that all versions of the drug are affected and could generate very high levels of NDMA in the human body.
But health officials in various countries instead suspect the fault comes from the manufacturing plant of the chemical in India.
NHS figures show almost six million prescriptions were dished out for ranitidine in England last year.
Zantac is not the first medication to be recalled in the UK over fears it could contain NDMA.
The MHRA has pulled a series of heart drugs in the last year after tests revealed some batches contained NDMA or a similar chemical.