US retailer CVS has suspended the sale of heartburn drug Zantac due to cancer concerns over the presence of impurities in Zantac and other ranitidine products.
CVS has stopped selling Zantac and CVS Health brand ranitidine products, which are currently being examined for links to cancer. The US and the European Union are currently conducting investigations while Canada and France have announced the recall of Zantac.
On September 13, both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that they will be conducting an investigation after finding N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in drugs containing ranitidine. NDMA has been classified as a probable human carcinogen based on animal studies.
According to the EMA, NDMA can be found in water and foods, including meats, dairy products, and vegetables, but is not considered harmful when ingested in very low levels. Meanwhile, ranitidine, which can be bought over-the-counter or via prescription, are used to lessen stomach acid production in patients with conditions such as heartburn and stomach ulcers.
CVS released a statement saying: "Zantac brand products and CVS brand ranitidine products have not been recalled, and the FDA is not recommending that patients stop taking ranitidine at this time."
A similar announcement has been previously made by Walgreens, Walmart and Rite Aid in the US. Novartis-owned Sandoz has also said that it was recalling "several batches of its ranitidine-containing medicines" and are "under way or pending" in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the US.
The FDA does not urge people taking ranitidine to discontinue it immediately but advises them to contact health professionals about alternatives while those buying it over the counter are asked to consider other options.
GlaxoSmithKline, the original manufacturer of Zantac, reported to have stopped distributing its generic version of the drug and recalled its products from India and Hong Kong.
