Kashish Sharma
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Written By: Kashish Sharma | Published : September 14, 2022 2:16 PM IST
Lawyers have claimed that many people who developed cancer after taking ranitidine didn’t have a family history of cancer or any genetic markers for the disease.
Zinetac, an antacid that has enjoyed popularity in medical prescriptions for years, has suddenly come under the global scanner for its role in causing cancer. In a recent move, the Indian government has removed the drug from the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). The chemical name of the drug is Ranitidine and is sold under the brand names Aciloc, Zinetac, and Rantac. It is often prescribed for acidity and stomach-related issues.
Among the various drugs prescribed for battling an infection, an antacid is a drug that helps nullify the heartburn and indigestion caused by other drugs like antibiotics. Their role in the body is to regulate the amount of acid in your stomach.
Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the majority of the population. The medicines in the NLEM should be available at affordable costs and with assured quality and safety. The list is prepared after several rounds of consultations with experts from different disciplines and organizations. The list was formulated in 1996 and it was revised in 2003, 2011, and 2015. As per reports, consultations from the Drug Controller General of India and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have been taken before removing the drug from the essential list. Hence, the drug won't have any price cap from now onwards.
The drug Zinetac may elevate the risk of a person getting cancer. As per reports, the drug's main ingredient ranitidine has a contaminant called N-nitrosodimethylamine (or NDMA) which is a probable human carcinogen. The review teams have observed that ranitidine is the only drug in which the levels of the carcinogen might increase over a period of time as the drug has a shelf life.
A pharmacy in the US first brought the problem to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A petition was filed with FDA in 2019, requesting it to recall all ranitidine products. The pharmacy's research found that the drug was unstable and generated high levels of NDMA. In April 2020, FDA requested the removal of ranitidine products from the market.
Zinetac and other ranitidine products contaminated with high levels of NDMA can cause many types of cancer, some of which are
Bladder cancer
Prostate cancer
Liver cancer
Stomach cancer
In wake of many suitcases filed against the drug manufacturers, lawyers have claimed that many people who developed cancer after taking ranitidine didn't have a family history of cancer or any genetic markers for the disease. While the physicians have stressed that cancer must have developed due to environmental factors but lawyers are arguing that NDMA may account for such a factor. Research has shown that when the drug is kept in storage at a higher-than-normal temperature, then it exposes people to unacceptable levels of NDMA.
