A drug to treat high blood pressure for almost 12‚500 South Africans is being recalled after the active ingredient was shown to be contaminated by a potentially cancer-causing chemical.
The recall‚ however‚ comes almost three weeks after the drug was removed from shelves in Europe‚ the UK and the USA because the Chinese manufactured active ingredient was contaminated. The regulator‚ South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA)‚ did not answer TimesLIVE queries about why it took so long to recall it here.
The drugs being removed from pharmacy shelves are Dynaval Co 80/12‚5mg‚ Dynaval Co 160/12‚5mg and Dynaval Co 160/25mg. They are manufactured by Cape Town-based Pharma Dynamics.
Dynaval is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure‚ or is given to patients who have had recent heart attacks.
But SAHPRA has warned patients that it is far more dangerous to stop taking blood pressure medicine and risk having a stroke than it is t
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