Third potential carcinogen found in blood-pressure drugs

The FDA has said it thinks the potential carcinogens, known as nitrosamine impurities, are a result of the manufacturing processes the companies used. (Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

A third potential cancer-causing contaminant has been found in a widely used blood-pressure medicine, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

India-based generic-drug company Hetero Labs Ltd. discovered a chemical called NMBA in its version of losartan, the FDA said in a statement Friday. The contamination was found during heightened testing stirred by a far-reaching recall of generic blood-pressure drugs known as angiotensin II receptor blockers, or ARBs, that contain potential carcinogens NDMA and NDEA.