In recent years, a lot of popular drugs, including diabetic, hypertension, and heartburn drugs, have been found to be contaminated with a carcinogen: nitrosamine.
In 2018, Swiss drugmaker Novartis first discovered that its blockbuster blood pressure medication valsartan contained harmful levels of a carcinogen known as nitrosamine. In the following two years, over 1,400 product lots were recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to their containing this chemical above acceptable intake limits.
As recently as Aug. 19, 2022, Merck’s blockbuster diabetes medication, Januvia, was found to be contaminated with nitrosamine. This led to a month-long investigation by Merck. However, Januvia was not recalled to avoid drug shortages….