Recall was expanded a few days ago. This article has link to those included.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/08/08/health/valsartan-recall-fda-expanded/index.html

The pharmacist can only go by what they are told so do not be angry thinking it is something that was withheld.

I really like getting the People's Pharmacy newsletter as they seem to find out about these things at the very beginning. I take a similar drug and hope it won't be found to be tainted as well.... Something's gotta change, though I'm certainly not holding my breath.

Valsartan Recall--2nd article

No I don't blame the pharmacist. I blame myself for not going with my cautionary feelings and just have him get a different medication. Today he started a new medication. She was given information and that's what she was going by.

Wow! Our store gets communication sent to the entire chain that we are supposed to read EACH day. All of our medication (I can't spell it, good thing I'm just the receiver) was pulled the day the government did the recall! It IS the pharmacists job to check the recall page EVERY SINGLE DAY. We have recalls almost every day, not just for pharmacy but also front store food and health and beauty items. It all has to go into a government website to show we either have it (and how much do we have, the claim number etc.,). It's our job.

Possible alternatives, in same classification.

Thanks for the heads-up. I checked, I take something that's apparently a bit different.

Hope all turns out well for anyone taking this drug in any of its various identities.

Our doctor sent him irbesartan and said he should be fine on it but to check closely for a week or so.

I take Valsartan 160mg. The manufacturer of mine is on the NOT recalled list. Nonetheless, when I get my next refill, I'm going to ask for the brand name Diovan). It will cost me $100 for a 90-day supply (versus $7.67 for a 90-day supply of the generic), but the peace of mind will be worth it.

His was not on the original list. But it was on the updated list. So they could possibly add more to the list. I don't know if getting the brand name would absolutely be guaranteed it won't be on another list.

That's why I wanted him off of it to begin with, I had a feeling there would be more. The pharmacy had not notified him when the original recall happened. I read about it and called her. She said his manufacturer was not in the recall which was why he was not called. We did get the call when the update came out and his was on the list. I guess we just never know!

In reading yesterday after this was posted this medicine is used by several makers as an ingredient in other drugs. If you carefully read this article you will notice the list of company names so you can check your bottles. It apparently was the company that started the recall. https://whnt.com/2018/08/11/fda-expands-recall-of-blood-pressure-drug-valsartan-due-to-cancer-concern/

One of the reasons there are so many names is that the ingredient is shipped then the various companies mix various ingredients, medicinal or inert then process into the end product be it pill, liquid, or IV ready.

thank you Raven for posting this! My DH takes this, and he was not notified by our pharmacy. We are going there tomorrow!

Raven said, "I don't know if getting the brand name would absolutely be guaranteed it won't be on another list."

There are brand name drugs, authorized generic drugs, and generic drugs. And there can be, and often is, a huge difference between generics and authorized generics. A generic only has to have the same active ingredients as the brand name medication. The inactive ingredients can, and do, vary widely. An authorized generic is exactly the same as the brand name medication. In fact, most authorized generics are manufactured by the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the brand name, and then they market it under a private label. Authorized generics cost the same as generics, but you are really getting the brand name medication. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an authorized generic for Diovan.

If you have the NDC number of a prescription medication that you are taking (or thinking of taking), you can go to the website for the National Drug Codes List and look it up. If you scroll down the resulting page, you will come to "Marketing Category." If it says, "NDA - A product marketed under an approved New Drug Application" it means it is the brand name. If it says "ANDA - A product marketed under an approved Abbreviated New Drug Application" it means that it is a generic. It might say, "NDA AUTHORIZED GENERIC - A product marketed as a 'generic' drug under an approved new Drug Application (NDA), rather than an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA)." This, obviously, is the authorized generic.

As a way of illustrating the differences, here are two "charts" of inactive ingredients. The first one is for Diovan/Valsartan. Since there is not an authorized generic, the chart shows Novartis Pharmaceuticals in the first column. That's the maker of the brand name Diovan. The second and third colums are two different manufactures of generic Valsartan. I took the liberty of alphabetizing the ingredients to make it easier to compare. Yes, some of the ingredients are listed more than once. I can only presume that this is because they are different amounts, although I have no idea if that's correct or not.

The second chart is of the inactive ingredients of Lipitor/Atorvastatin Calcium. In this chart, the first column is Greenstone LLC -- the authorized generic. The middle column is Parke-Davis Division of Pfizer Inc - the brand name. The third column is Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc - the generic. I did not alphabetize the ingredients in this chart. As you can easily see, the lists for Greenstone LLC and Parke-Davis Division of Pfizer Inc are identical. The list for Dr. Reddy's is quite different.

There has been another recall. This one is from a company called Aurobindo. Pharmacy says "just keep taking it" until they figure out what to do. Thanks a lot (sarcasm).

Wow. Aurobindo Pharma USA is one of the companies that has been added to the list of manufacturers on recall. Most of their recalled products are a combination of Valsartan with Hydrochlorothiazide, or Amlodipine and Valsartan. The only "pure" Valsartan on Aurobindo's list is 320mg. I was getting Valsartan 160mg by Aurobindo, but last year I switched and started taking the brand name Diovan. Costs me $100 for a 3-month supply (as opposed to $10 for a 3-month supply of a generic), but the peace of mind is worth it to me. Link to Valsartan products under recall as of 31 Dec 2018. This is the most recent list.

I saw that on the news. I think it is going to involve all the sartans.

Lindsey, Is there any chance Aurobindo makes Diovan?

My DH gets all his meds from the VA and we've been through the whole replacement thing twice already and now the bottle they most recently sent is on the newest list. Sheesh. One would think that the FDA would have been looking at all the replacements as soon as the first recall happened.

Socks, Diovan is the brand name, and it is made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Basel, Switzerland.

As I posted previously, there are brand name drugs, authorized generics, and generics. Authorized generics are identical to the brand name drug, made by the same pharmaceutical company that makes the brand name drug but sold by a subsidiary or partner of the manufacturing pharmaceutical company. "Regular" generic drugs are made by many other companies (most of which, it seems, are in India). The "regular" generics only need to have the same active ingredients as the brand name drug. The inactive ingredients can be pretty much anything. Not all generics are equal, no matter what the public relations companies try to tell us. The inactive ingredients can, and do, affect the way the drug works.

I have high blood pressure, and had to have a stent in my right coronary artery last year. I am on three medications for my heart - two blood pressure meds (brand names) Toprol XL and Diovan, and one (brand name), Effient, to prevent platelets from sticking together and forming blood clots.

When I was first prescribed Toprol XL, it was in the early 1990s and there was not a generic, so my prescription was always filled with the brand name. When the first generic came out (I think it was around 2006 or 2007), it was the authorized generic, and that's what my prescription has been filled with ever since. I've been taking Diovan since the early 2000s, and a generic wasn't approved until 2014. When I was first given a generic, it was manufactured by Ohm, but last year the pharmacy's supplier switched to Aurobindo. I take 160mg daily, and Aurobindo's Valsartan at 320mg is recalled, but not the 160mg. Nonetheless, because of all of the recalls, last Summer I switched and now take only the brand name Diovan. When I was first prescribed Effient (after getting the stent), I was given a generic. I was horribly, horribly dizzy 24/7. Because being on Effient (or any blood thinner) can result in excessive bleeding (not to mention bruising!), a fall can be extremely dangerous. And, yes, dizziness is a side effect of Effient (or, at least, of the generic Effient). But, because I am the way I am, I asked my cardiologist for a new prescription, to include "do not substitute." As soon as I started taking the brand name Effient, I no longer had the dizziness.

BP meds surely do have side effects. Glad you finally found meds you can live with.

I did not know that about regular and identical generics. How do you find out which you’re taking, ask the pharmacist?

I’ll do something about this today.

No, Socks, I've never asked a pharmacist about anything. This will be long, so bear with me...

As I said, when I was first prescribed Toprol XL (metoprolol succinate), there wasn't a generic, so I was getting a three-month supply (90 tablets) of Toprol XL for $5 four times each year. When I was due for a refill the first time after the FDA approved a generic, the mail order pharmacy that our insurance used sent me a bottle that was labeled saying it was a generic. I was incensed because I hadn't been notified and given a choice to continue with the brand name (made by Astra-Zeneca) at a higher out-of-pocket cost. I called them and ranted and raved. They said, ok, they'd send me a new bottle of the brand name pills, but it would reduce my available refills by one, and my credit card on file would be charged $25. I said ok.

It wasn't until after that conversation that I even opened the bottle of generic tablets. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the generic tablets were identical to the brand name tablets - shape, size, color, and markings. The label also had "Par Pharm" on it. I did a little online research and found that Astra-Zeneca had an agreement with Par Pharmaceuticals wherein Par would sell the "generic" that was actually still being made by Astra-Zeneca.

So, I then had a six-month supply of the brand name drug even though half of that supply was labeled as a generic. After the six months was up and I ordered another refill, I told the mail order pharmacy that I would continue to accept the generic. And, the "generic" I received was always the Par Pharmaceuticals generic, made by Astra-Zeneca. This continued for several years, until our insurance changed which company filled the prescriptions. (Hubs and I were both State of California employees - now retirees, and our insurance was PERSCare (Blue Cross PPO), which is one of the health care choices for State employees and retirees. Every five years PERS - the Public Employees Retirement System - renegotiates the pharmacy benefits for all state employees/retirees. They'd usually go back and forth between Caremark and Medco, although now it's OptumRx.) So, when the supplier changed, I notified the pharmacy that I would only accept metoprolol succinate from Par Pharmaceuticals. They didn't have an issue with that, and that's what I continued to get.

But, Par Pharmaceuticals was eventually sold (end of 2015), and their agreement with Astra-Zeneca terminated. Astra-Zeneca at the end of 2016 then licensed the USA distribution of Toprol XL/metoprolol succinate to Aralez Pharmaceuticals. The distribution company that supplied the pharmacy filling my prescription still had a supply of Toprol XL/metoprolol succinate from Par and my prescription was filled from that supply until they ran out, which was sometime last year. I then told the pharmacy that I will only accept metoprolol succinate from Aralez, and that's what I'm now getting/taking. Well, actually, the authorized generic is marketed by Lannett, which is what I'm getting. But, very recently I read that Lannett is selling off a lot of their assets, so I don't know if that is going to include the deal with Aralez to market the authorized generic of Toprol XL or not.

A while back I read an article online about problems that people who took generic Toprol were having. Many, many people said they'd been taking the brand name drug but then when generics became available their insurance made them get the generic. But, they weren't feeling as well as they had been, and their blood pressure wasn't being well maintained. As soon as their doctors wrote new "dispense as written" prescriptions and the folks started taking "the real thing" again, their cardiac health improved. If I'm ever unable to purchase the authorized generic of Toprol XL, I will pay the extra money to get the brand name. I know that I am fortunate that I am able to afford to do so. I have spent a lot of time researching to find authorized generics for any and all medications that my husband and I take. At this time there isn't an authorized generic for Diovan, so I pay for the brand name medication. There isn't an authorized generic at this time for Effient, so I pay for the brand name medication. (And I should be able to stop taking Effient somewhere between March and August of this year, as it will be a year in mid-March since I got the stent.)

This article from May 17, 2018, gives a good explanation of the differences between authorized generics and generics.

This is an FDA Listing of Authorized Generics. The FDA updates it quarterly. The list is alphabetical by brand name. It does not tell which pharmaceutical company markets the authorized generic. It does show the name of the pharmaceutical company that makes the brand name, and you can always go to their website, or do a Google image search for the medication so you will know what it looks like. If you take a generic, you may actually have an authorized generic without realizing it.

LIndsey, you should have been a detective! Very interesting to know about all this. Thanks.

The pharmacist is going to give me a new prescription made by a manufacturer which does not have a recall. I’m still very, very suspicious about it. If these all companies get their raw materials from the same source, all manufactured products could be contaminated.

I could ask doc to switch to another bp med, but you know how that goes.