This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
On October 2, 2019, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board in Kenya issued a directive to pharmacies to retrieve and quarantine all Ranitidine products sold in the Kenyan market.
The move comes after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on September 13, 2019, that some ranitidine medications, including those known by the brand name Zantac, contain low levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), an impurity that could cause cancer.
NDMA is a possible cancer-causing chemical linked to liver damage, and the FDA has been investigating its presence in various medications, including blood pressure and heart failure medicines known as angiotensin receptor blockers or ARBs.
Dr. Fred Siyoi, the board's chief executive, instructed pharmacies to carry out a level two recall of all ranitidine products from the Kenyan market and submit details of all imported products in the last three years.
Several drug companies, including Novartis and Apotex, have also recalled their generic ranitidine products sold in the US.
