Another Blood Pressure Medication Has Been Recalled Due to Potential Cancer Link
If you’re one of the 116 million Americans that Cleveland Clinic data suggests have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a warning that one particular blood pressure medication could cause long-term health problems of another nature.
Following recent recalls on lisinopril and ramipril, on December 6, the FDA announced the recall of an unspecified quantity of Nebivolol Tablets, manufactured by Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., an East Windsor, NJ company.
Nebivolol is the generic form of the hypertension drug Bystolic, and is classified as a type of beta-blocker. Most commonly used to help regulate the heart and circulatory system, beta-blockers also are sometimes used to treat conditions of the brain and nervous system, says the Cleveland Clinic. One pharmaceutical trade outlet says nebivolol was prescribed over 3 million times in 2022.
The recalled medications were distributed by prescription only in 30-count bottles of tablets in 2.5-milligram (mg) doses. Consumers can identify the affected products using information found on the drug’s label:
- Lot numbers: NB0224001A and NB0224001B
- Expiry date: April 2027
- National Drug Code (NDC): 59651-137-30
Sparking the recall was the discovery of deviations from Common Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP), a set of regulations ensuring quality control. The blood pressure controlling tablets were found to have concerning levels of a cancer-causing impurity called N-Nitroso Nebivolol, a type of Nitrosamine.
