VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than 30,000 British Columbians have been impacted by Health Canada’s July 9 recall of valsartan, a generic cardiovascular drug, because of concerns around an impurity in the drug.  The impurity was identified as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a potential human carcinogen.

In British Columbia, Pharmacare is advising pharmacies to use their standard corporate recall processes to identify and inform patients who currently have a supply of any of the affected lot numbers or DINs. Patients should be requested to replace their existing supply as soon as possible.

Pharmacists can ensure a patient’s drug therapy is continued by adapting their prescription to another medication in the same classification. Patients where at all possible should visit the pharmacy where the original prescription was filled.

Community pharmacists are the most accessible health-care providers in the province, with pharmacies in communities big and small across the province. They are on hand to help answer questions from patients about adapting their valsartan prescription and work with a patient’s insurance provider, as required, and PharmaNet to access a patient’s medication history.

Read the Health Canada advisory here:  http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-ra...2a-eng.php

The British Columbia Pharmacy Association is a not-for-profit, voluntary, professional association of pharmacists and pharmacies. It represents more than 3,200 pharmacists and more than 900 pharmacies throughout B.C.

For more information, contact:

Angie Gaddy Director of Communications angie.gaddy@bcpharmacy.ca    (604) 269-2863