South Korea has banned the production and sale of 31 metformin-based diabetes drugs for the presence of a carcinogenic substance, even though they are not seriously harmful, according to national health authority.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said a total of 288 active pharmaceutical ingredients and finished dosage forms of metformin circulating in Korea were identified with the substance, of which 31 exceeded the permitted level of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) classified as a probably carcinogenic to humans by the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The ministry put a temporary ban on the manufacture and sale of the concerning products and ordered doctors against prescribing the drugs to patients.

Metformin, a standard drug used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, helps control high blood sugar and is marketed under various brand names.

The ministry added that those drugs are very unlikely to pose serious health risks, adding the levels of NDMA impurity are extremely low.

Assessment showed people who took the drugs had an additional cancer risk of 0.21 person for 100,000, significantly lower than international pharmaceutical product safety standards of every 1 out of 100,000 persons.

The ministry also advised people taking the affected medications at present should not suddenly stop using them without consulting their doctors first because the danger of not adequately controlling diabetes is far higher.

By Minu Kim

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]