Photo Credit: Public Hospitals Authority

There seems to be a bit of confusion in the general populace and on social media regarding the recent recall of Valsartan, a drug used to treat high blood pressure. The recall did NOT affect ALL brands. 

Please see attached, a letter from Novartis (the original manufacturer of Valsartan) which was addressed to all the physicians in this region. (Novartis Central America & Caribbean)

The letter stated that "We want to emphasize that the active ingredient detected with the impurity is not used in the manufacturing process of Diovan®, CoDiovan®, Exforge®, Exforge HCT® and Vymada®, so we can confirm that none of these batches have been imported and/or distributed in the countries of this region."

Hopefully, the letter will help to clarify some concerns regarding the unaffected brands.

Barbara Wilson