Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and manufacturing contamination: A retrospective National Register Study into suspected associated adverse drug reactions

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine if any suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) observed with the use of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) could be linked to either (a) their unique respective physicochemical and pharmacological profiles and (b) the recently disclosed suspected carcinogenic manufacturing contaminants found in certain sartan drug class batches. METHODS: The pharmacology profiles of ARBs were data‐mined from the Chemical Database of bioactive molecules with drug‐like properties, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (ChEMBL). Suspected ADR data (from 01/2016–10/2022, inclusive) and prescribing rates of ARBs over a 5‐year prescribing window (from 09/2016 to 08/2021, inclusive) were obtained via analysis of the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) Yellow Card drug analysis profile and Open prescribing databases, respectively. RESULTS: The overall suspected ADRs and fatalities per 100 000 prescriptions identified across the ARBs studied were found to be different between the sartan drug class members (chi‐squared test, P < .05). There is a greater relative rate of reports for valsartan across all investigated organ classes of ADRs, than other ARBs, despite valsartan's more limited pharmacological profile and similar physicochemical properties to other sartans. The disparity in ADR reporting rates with valsartan vs other ARBs could be due to the dissimilarity in formulation excipients, patient factors and publicity surrounding batch contaminations, amongst others. Cancer‐related ADRs and fatalities per 100 000 prescriptions identified across the ARBs studied are not statistically significant (chi‐squared test, P > .05) based on the datasets used over the 5‐year period. CONCLUSION: No connection between ARB pharmacology and their suspected ADRs could be found. No conclusion between sartan batch contaminations and increased suspected cancer‐related ADRs was found.