FDA: All Versions of Heartburn Drug Zantac Should Be Removed From Market Immediately

Packages of Zantac, a popular medication which decreases stomach acid production and prevents heartburn, sit on a shelf at a drugstore in New York City on Sept. 19, 2019. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Zantac, a heartburn drug, should be immediately removed from the market, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday.

Manufactures should withdraw all versions of the drug because the agency has determined an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), in some of them increases over time, potentially resulting in unacceptable levels of the impurity.