Blood pressure medications impose potentially deadly blood cancer risk.
For those susceptible to hypertension, news of emerging Valsartan class action lawsuits is enough to send the blood pressure meter into high alert.
If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic high blood pressure and experienced the onset of severe side effects from this drug, contact the experienced class action team at Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC right away as you may be eligible for compensation as a result of your injuries.
The dangers of this drug are becoming more apparent each day, particularly in light of scientific discoveries of certain impurities within its chemical makeup. These impurities have been known to cause life-threatening illnesses – including cancer – for Valsartan victims. If you believe your diagnosis may be linked to Valsartan, do not delay in reaching out to us immediately.
History of Valsartan
Valsartan is a generic name for a type of blood pressure medication known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARB’s. ARB’s were first approved for the American drug market by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the 1990s under the name Losartan – and from there, several other types of ARB drugs were developed.
Initially, drugs like Valsartan proved extremely useful in blocking the effect of the damaging hormone known as “angiotensin II” – which in turn lowers blood pressure. ARB’s are prescribed routinely in those suffering from conditions like mild to moderate hypertension, kidney malfunction secondary to diabetes, chronic heart failure, and as a method to prevent stroke in those considered at-risk.
While drugs like Valsartan continue to remain on the market as ARB treatment for high blood pressure, certain lots of this drug from a variety of manufacturers have been recalled due to the presence of impurities with human carcinogenic (cancer-causing) propensity.
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Side Effects & Impurities
Healthcare providers continue to date to prescribe Valsartan to patients with certain medical needs. However, issues with Valsartan began to emerge in June 2018 via routine mandatory testing of these drugs. While these impurities were categorized as “unexpected,” ARB drugs including Valsartan were found to contain powerfully harmful impurities known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (“NDMA”) and N-Nitrosodiethylamine (“NDEA”). A third impurity, known as N-Nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid (“NMBA”) was also discovered but may introduce a lower risk of cancer.
Once discovered, the FDA moved to issue immediate recalls of not only Valsartan but many of its counterpart ARB drugs as well. Side effects of ingesting impurities like NDMA, NDEA, or NMBA could include any of the following:
Valsartan Class Actions
A class action lawsuit is one in which a group of plaintiffs with near-identical claims and injuries join together in order to hold the responsible party (or parties) accountable.
When it comes to class actions involving Valsartan, plaintiffs in several states have already begun the process of seeking compensation for exposure to the impurities. Currently, the number of batches of drugs with potential impurity issues includes ARB’s known as Losartan and Irbesartan, as well as the brand name drug Diovan. Pharmaceutical manufacturers implicated in these lawsuits include:
- Teva
- Torrent
- Zhejiang Huahai
- Mylan
- Sandoz
- ScieGen
- Aurobindo
- Solco
- MacLeods
- Vivimed
Many of these drug makers initiated voluntary recalls of their products. Currently, the FDA is permitting the sale of Valsartan drugs containing 9.82 parts per million of cancer-causing impurities (or lower), as this has been determined to be a safe amount.
Did You Take Valsartan?
If you are one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans potentially exposed to dangerous carcinogenic impurities in a drug you thought was meant to help you, there may be relief in sight. If you believe Valsartan, Diovan or any other ARB caused the onset of cancer, liver or kidney problems, please give us a call right away.