Valsartan recall: global regulatory overview and future challenges

Valsartan is an orally active antihypertensive drug developed in the 1990s and is a selective angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)1 which relaxes the blood vessels and thus reduces blood pressure; it is also used for treating patients with congestive heart failure and postmyocardial infarction.2 There are eight other ARBs that patients may be switched to if they discontinue their valsartan therapy.3 Valsartan was patented by Novartis Pharmaceuticals in 1996 on the US market under the name Diovan. The patent was taken off in the USA in 2012, when valsartan was distributed as a generic.4 Valsartan alone and in combination with other drugs is sold by 30 companies in the US market.