ISLAMABAD – STOP using common medicine ZANTAC as it causes cancer, revealsUS Research study.
After the US Research study, Pakistani authorities have banned the medicinecompanies and agencies over producing and selling of the medicines usingthe similar chemical agent.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has ordered all thepharmaceutical companies to stop manufacturing medicines using ‘Ranitidine’and to recall all such products in the market. The substance is used totreat acidity and other stomach related issues.
The notification has come days after a Swiss pharma group Novartis recalledits popular product Zantac using this raw material.
Last week, the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) hadissued a directive to ban the use of Ranitidine in drugs, fearing it couldcause cancer.
Read Top Stories
It said that a nitrosamine impurity, medically calledN-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), had been found in some products containingRanitidine. This is a probable carcinogenic impurity which helps theformation of cancer.
DRAP said that they are working closely with international agencies tomonitor the outcome of the investigation.
