Recalled Blood Pressure Drug Suits Sent to N.J.

Federal suits over recalled generic blood pressure drugs will be combined and litigated before a judge in New Jersey where many defendants are located.

The actions involve common factual questions, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Feb. 14.

The proposed class suits allege hundreds of thousands of patients paid for generic valsartan contaminated with trace amounts of N-nitrosodimethylamine, also known as NDMA, a likely cancer-causing substance.

Most suits stem from a voluntary recall announced in July 2018 of several brands of generic drugs that used valsartan supplied by Chinese company Zhejiang Hauhai Pharmaceuticals. Walgreen Co. and other retailers ...