GlaxoSmithKline PLC has become the latest company to recall all unexpired stock of heartburn medicine Zantac, also known as ranitidine, on concerns the medicine may have been contaminated with a chemical that has cancerous potential, according to the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
The U.K.'s biggest drugmaker is recalling all unexpired stock of the drug as a precautionary measure due to possible contamination of the ranitidine medicines with an impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA.
The issue is ongoing and has impacted other companies including Sanofi and Novartis AG. The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it is actively involved with the European Medicines Agency and other medicines regulators to determine any possible impact.
Last year, some blood pressure medicines known as sartans were found to be contaminated with NDMA, and strict manufacturing requirements were introduced after global recalls and investigations into the origin of the contamination.
