DHS warns against use of Ranitidine

Mumbai: The state Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has issued a circular urgently to stop the use of acidity medication in government and civic-run hospitals owing to the presence of low levels of carcinogenic impurity in a drug called Ranitidine.  Ranitidine is a medicine prescribed for treating stomach ulcers and gastric problems. The Schedule H drug is available in the form of injection and oral tablet. On September 13, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notification stating that Ranitidine contained low levels of nitrosamine impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which is cancerous. Days after the US-FDA issued the warning, the Drug Controller General Of India (DCGI) issued a notice to state FDAs to test the product.  “NDMA has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as probably carcinogenic to humans,” said V.G.Somani, drug controller general, in a letter.