Europe suspends use of Mylan’s Hyderabad-made valsartan

By Flora Southey

- Last updated on GMT

(Image: Getty/Thiago Santos)
(Image: Getty/Thiago Santos)
EU authorities have detected NDEA in some batches of Mylan’s valsartan, manufactured in Hyderabad, India.

The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare has suspended the manufacturer’s certificate of suitability to the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia (CEP).

The certificate had served to validate Mylan’s compliance with European standards for quality testing, and without it, the firm’s valsartan can no longer be used in EU medicines.

The detection of N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) in some of Mylan’s valsartan batches prompted the decision. NDEA and the related compound N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer​ as probable carcinogens.

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), EU Member States have instigated recalls of affected batches of medicines and are conducting tests to further investigate the contamination.

The agency continued: “The presence of impurities in valsartan medicines and other sartans is thought to be linked to the synthesis of a specific ring structure (tetrazole) which is present in some sartan medicines.”

Mylan did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

A growing number of affected suppliers

Mylan is the latest active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer to experience NDEA or NDMA contamination issues this year.

In June​, certain batches of valsartan manufactured by Chinese API maker Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals were found to contain the NDMA impurity, and in September, the EMA also detected low levels of NDEA​ in an API from Indian manufacturer, Hetero Labs.

Another Indian manufacturer, Aurobindo Pharma Limited, has since announced​ that trace amounts of NDEA has been detected in its irbesartan drug product.

Related news

Show more

Related products

show more

Increasing the Bioavailability of Oncology Drugs

Increasing the Bioavailability of Oncology Drugs

Content provided by Lonza Small Molecules | 13-Nov-2023 | White Paper

Oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a class of cancer drugs that can be highly susceptible to issues with solubility in the gastrointestinal tract

Efficient Freezing & Storage of Biopharmaceuticals

Efficient Freezing & Storage of Biopharmaceuticals

Content provided by Single Use Support | 06-Nov-2023 | White Paper

Various options exist for freezing biopharmaceutical bulk material, but selecting the most effective and efficient approach for each cold chain can be...

Manufacturing Drugs with Highly Potent APIs

Manufacturing Drugs with Highly Potent APIs

Content provided by Altasciences | 28-Sep-2023 | White Paper

In this issue of The Altascientist, we examine the critical considerations for the safe and compliant manufacture of drugs with highly potent APIs (HPAPIs),...

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars