NHRA withdraws Valsartan from market

Manama, July 8 (BNA): National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) has taken precautionary measures to withdraw Valsartan drug that treats high blood pressure patients from the market. This decision has been made following a notification from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of the presence of non-pure substances used in the manufacture of the drug. NHRA said that based on this notification, they coordinated with the National Unified Procurement Company (NUPCO) to address all agents to withdraw the product from the market and precautionary monitoring in the Commission until the source is confirmed. Some drugs produced in China will be withdrawn, while medicines made in other countries are not yet notified. NHRA in coordination with NUPCO stopped purchasing the drug from agents until the confirmation of its source. NHRA called for patients who use the drug to consult their doctors to prescribe alternative medicine from other companies. The Commission circulated to all hospitals and pharmacies not to dispense this drug from companies concerned with generalisation.