Health authority issues additional list of safe diabetes medicines

TDT | Manama

The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) announced yesterday on its website and on social media an additional list of the safe diabetes medicines containing Metformin, which are free from the carcinogenic impurity (NDMA) or have it within acceptable limits.

The list contains the drugs’ names, registration numbers, and the names of the manufacturers. Last week, the Ministry of Health and the authority issued a joint-statement in which they confirmed that there was no need to worry about pharmaceuticals used for treating people with diabetes containing Metformin, and that the decision to continue or change a patient’s drug was the responsibility of the attending physician.

The Health Ministry and the NHRA asked all diabetes patients to consult their doctors, should they want to change medication and select the appropriate alternatives. The statement added that the NHRA was awaiting the results of an investigation during the next few days in order to issue another list of approved medicines, according to the report of the manufacturers and results of the analysis.

The NHRA renewed its call to patients to review its website to see if their medications were still included in the list of approved drugs, and to consult their doctors if their medicines were not mentioned.