South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said this July that 30.5% of 571 hypertension drugs from 54 companies, which had often been used to treat high blood pressure, were prohibited in Korea, because of high levels of a chemical that can cause cancer.

Valsartan which is commonly used for heart and high blood pressure medications has been manufactured worldwide, but it was revealed that those manufactured in China have been identified with carcinogens.

After inspection, the drug regulator found that the Valsartan produced by Daebong LS contained more than permitted level of NDMA, a chemical that could increase the risk of cancer. . The ministry set the permissible level of NDMA at less than 0.3 ppm, but the Valsartan made by Daebong LS consists of 4.89 ppm of NDMA. According to the ministry, Daebong LS has been importing ingredients from Zhuhai Rundu Pharmaceutical in China.

As a result, the Korean drug agency has ordered 115 hypertension drugs containing Valsartan from Daebong LS to be banned from sales and prescriptions.

Similar actions have happened globally, including in the U.S. where the Food and Drug Administration has recalled some drugs that contained high levels of Valsartan.

After these revelations, doctors and pharmacists have debated over which hypertension medication to use. Local pharmacists have been asking doctors to write down the chemical substances and ingredients needed for the patients, not the exact name of drugs, when issuing prescriptions. They say patients can get more information that way.

The medical doctors, on the other hand, suggest that this system can be more dangerous to patients, and won’t be able to prevent the cases.

L.L.F reporter Ji-won Park