Fourth carcinogen discovered in heart pills used by millions

An online pharmacy told U.S. regulators it found another cancer-causing chemical in widely prescribed blood-pressure pills, raising new questions about a complex global web of companies that produces medicine for millions of people. A solvent called dimethylformamide was discovered in the drug valsartan made by several companies, including Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, according to a filing last week to the Food and Drug Administration by New Haven, Connecticut-based Valisure. Dozens of forms of generic valsartan have been recalled since July 2018, when the carcinogenic chemical N-Nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, was detected in a version of the drug made by a Chinese company. Valsartan is a decades-old treatment for hypertension that is frequently combined with other medicines into a single pill. Valisure found DMF in valsartan that is still on the market in the U.S., including in medicines the FDA had highlighted as alternatives to recalled drugs.