Health Ministry bans all ranitidine medicines

CAIRO, Sept 20 (MENA) - The Ministry of Health and Population has banned all ranitidine medicines after discovering that the popular heartburn medication Zantac contain low levels of the nitrosamine impurity (N-nitrosodimethylamine) (NDMA).

In a statement released on Friday, the ministry said samples of the Zantac drug will be analysed by the National Organization for Drug and Control Research.

The Health Ministry's ban comes upon reports issued by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency about the presence of the NDMA impurity in the Zantac product.

The ministry added that it will take all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of ranitidine medicines as per the globally-accredited control procedures.

The ministry will decide whether to release or pull out the ranitidine medicines from pharmacies as per the lab results, the statement read.