Bangladesh bans heartburn drug Ranitidine made with ingredients of two Indian firms

The government has banned the heartburn drug Ranitidine made with raw materials from two Indian companies after detecting high levels of cancer-causing ingredients in them.

The Directorate General of Drug Administration announced the move on Thursday.

The two Indian companies that supply the raw material – Ranitidine hydrochloride – are Saraca Laboratories Limited and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, according to the DGDA, bdnews24.com reports.

Tests run on the raw materials from these companies and the finished product revealed higher than normal levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which the US Food and Drug Administration says is a “probable human carcinogen, the authority said.

The drug authority has accordingly banned the production, sale and marketing of Ranitidine products made using the materials supplied by the Indian firms.