Health Ministry recalls valsartan-containing medications

CAIRO - 27 July 2018: Ministry of Health issued a statement on Thursday to warn against the high blood pressure and heart failure medications containing Valsartan.

Based on reports from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), these medications were found to contain significant amounts of an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) that may cause cancer.

The ministry warned doctors and pharmacies against prescribing medications containing the dangerous pharmaceutical ingredient and ordered the recall of valsartan-containing
medications.

Earlier in July, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced a league of reform measures affecting Egypt’s health sector, giving strict orders to secure national stock reserves of baby formula milk and the most important vaccines.

The health ministry, led by the newly-appointed Health Minister Hala Zayed, has consistently reiterated that the country has been lacking disposable amounts of baby formula milk and other vital vaccines for epidemic diseases, culminated in the recent spate of protests witnessed in Egypt over shortages of Penicillin vaccines.

Strategic reserves of the baby formula milk are enough for many months to come, Zayed previously announced.