MHRA has recalled 3 batches of Losartan tablets due to contamination with the nitrosamine N-nitroso-N-methylamino butyric acid.

As a precautionary measure to protect public health, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today recalled 3 batches of Losartan tablets due to contamination with the nitrosamine N-nitroso-N-methylamino butyric acid (NMBA). The affected batches can be viewed here.

The recall is taking place as part of the continued investigation into potential nitrosamine contamination of sartan containing medicines, a class of medicine to treat blood pressure and heart attacks and heart failures.

Currently there is no evidence that nitrosamine impurities can cause harm and patients are being advised to continue taking their medication.

The investigation into possible contamination of sartan medicines began in 2018, after the nitrosamine N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), was identified in valsartan manufactured at a facility based in China.

Last year, the MHRA recalled batches of valsartan containing tablets to pharmacy level in July and November due to possible NDMA and N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) contamination.

In January and February 2019 the MHRA recalled batches of irbesartan containing tablets after testing revealed possible contamination with NDEA.

The MHRA continues to monitor the situation in the UK and are comprehensively investigating the issue alongside the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM).

Bernadette Sinclair-Jenkins, MHRA’s Manager, Regulatory Assessment Unit of the Inspection, Enforcement and Standards Division, said:

Our priority as regulator is to make sure the medicines you and your family take are effective and acceptably safe.

This recall shows we are continuing to investigate potential contamination of sartan containing medicines.

There is no evidence at present that medicines containing NDMA, NDEA or NMBA have caused any harm to patients and this recall is a precautionary measure.

Because of the risk associated with suddenly stopping high blood pressure medication, continue to take your medicines as prescribed by your doctor.

Please speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns about your medicine.

The Silos Maintenance Facility will house and maintain the machinery that will get the waste out of two of the oldest plants on the site.

It has taken nine years to build and is described as the site’s ‘Formula One pit lane’, a place where the machinery doing the most important job in UK nuclear decommissioning can be maintained in a safe, secure environment.

Silos Maintenance Facility unveiled at Sellafield

This is a major step towards emptying the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and the Pile Fuel Cladding Silo, which is a top priority for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Chris Halliwell, head of the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo for Sellafield Ltd said:

Getting this new facility ready is a huge success story for the Sellafield clean-up mission.

It will play an important role in the UK’s hazard reduction programme and is testament to the collaboration between Sellafield Ltd and our supply chain partners, Balfour Beatty and Cavendish Nuclear.

Not only was the project delivered to time and budget but it also has an impeccable safety record, to have had five and a half years without an accident on a construction site of this scale is no mean feat.

Congratulations to all those who have played their part and those who will safely operate the plant as it makes Sellafield safer, sooner.

The project cost £250 million and is a collaboration between Sellafield Ltd, Balfour Beatty and Cavendish Nuclear, working together to deliver design, construct, install and test of the facility.

To mark their impressive safety record, the team has donated £8000 to eight local charities, chosen by those who have worked on the project.

The nuclear site is moving into a 100 year programme of environmental remediation, which means speeding up the decommissioning of old facilities and moving the waste into safe containment for centuries to come.

In our Winter 2019 newsletter we provide updates on:

• work to introduce the new Breathing Space scheme which will provide legal protection from creditor enforcement for people in problem debt to enable them to seek advice and enter into an appropriate debt relief solution
• plans to mark the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Debt Relief Orders
• our work with other agencies to combat modern slavery
• the newly introduced special administration regime for further education institutions and sixth form colleges
• the creation of the new Counter Fraud Profession within the Civil Service
• how to email us after 1 April 2019
• customer service standards
• ensuring PPI compensation is claimed for the benefit of creditors before the 29 August 2019 deadline.

Plus we ask for your feedback on what you think of our Newsletter.

You can also subscribe to receive future issues of the newsletter direct to your inbox.

The archive of images and radar data for research and development projects is available to Government departments, emergency services and local authorities as well as industry and academia if their work meets a public sector need.

In the first trial of its kind the data, which has been made available by the UK Space Agency’s Space for Smarter Government Programme (SSGP), is intended to benefit the public sector in areas such as planning and development and environmental monitoring, while boosting further growth in the UK’s world-leading space industry, which already employs nearly 42,000 people.

The images provide an unprecedented level of detail of major British cities, transport networks, national parks and energy infrastructure. As well as increasing familiarity and raising awareness within the public sector of what space data can do, this will break down barriers to start ups and small businesses entering the sector, and create opportunities for new collaborations with public sector bodies.

Sara Huntingdon, the UK Space Agency’s SSGP Manager, said:

The demand for this data is huge and we have already had more than 40 organisations pre-registering an interest.

We are doing something new, which tries to break down barriers to innovation, and I can’t wait to see what ideas and projects arise. This data could open new doors for SMEs, enable rapid prototyping within government and stimulate the next wave of satellite enabled application development.

After the award of two data contracts to Airbus, Defence and Space and Telespazio Vega UK Ltd in October 2018, commercial archives of images and radar data have now been downloaded to a satellite data storage system (known as CEMS) run out of the Satellite Applications Catapult at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire.

The archive data will be available for up to three years to explore what role high resolution satellite data could have in public sector delivery.

SSGP will run a number of events to stimulate application development, with details to be announced in the coming months. These will encourage new entrants into the space applications sector, establish new connections with government and provide early feedback on requirements and emerging demand to inform future application development activities.

Providing the public sector with this satellite data is an example of the government fully exploiting the power of technology and data to deliver world-class services. The #SmarterGov campaign has been launched to drive innovation, savings and public service improvement across the public sector.