Aurobindo Vs. Sandoz (valsartan/hctz)

I have been taking the Sandoz version of valsartan/hctz (80/12.5) for YEARS with no problems. Recently, my pharmacy switched to the Aurobindo version. I feel like it's doing nothing (or little).

I thought that the bioequivalency for generics was mandated by law. Did I get counterfeit drugs at Rite-Aid?

Nevertheless, the pharmacy was skeptical but accommodating. They faxed over the request to my incredible GP whose office responded within the hour. I can now pick up my Sandoz version again.

Anybody else have a similar experience?

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Hello, Kenny! How are you?

Did you just feel like it wasn't working, or did you actually check your heart rate and blood pressure to find out?

Generics do have to be bioequivalent. But without actually checking, after taking it for a few days, there's not way to be certain whether or not it was doing its job.

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I too was refilled with the aurobindo valsartan and the stuff is junk and the cvs I got it from would not replace or refund it. what if I would have had a stroke or heart attack because of this cheap so called equivalent? Took the sandoz with no problems for a year and after getting switched to the aurobindo my blood pressure went up like I wasn't even taking any medication. Shame on the FDA for approving and shame on cvs for selling this India made junk!!!

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Hi there. The pill works and lowers my BP, but I am having side effects that I suspect are from the different fillers or binders since the active medication needs to be bioequivalent. I have no issues with Sandoz or Qualitest.

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Sure has! I have taken Diovan for over 20 years. Rite Aid switched to Mylan Valsartan and within two weeks my BP was through the roof. Had to go back to Diovan and it has taken another two weeks to get back down. Sandoz is Novartis generic company. Sandoz is closing their Suffern NY plant that make the generic Diovan so all distributors are having issues getting the Sandoz brand....it's terrible because you have to go with name brand and insurance companies refuse to cover....

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Rite-Aid is going to allow me to exchange my Aurobindo for the Qualitest ones that seemed to work fine for me. If _that_ doesn't work, I'm going to request the brand name and pay the extra $5.

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yes and the aurobindo upset my stomach
All pharmacies that I have tried say they cannot get the Sandoz

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Thank you for posting! I thought my problem was all me and I was absolutely sure that everyone else would be chastising me "oh, what a complainer, yadda yadda." I was so afraid of the ridicule that I wasn't going back to my doctor again. I was taking Valsartan with water pill 320-25mg a long time. The retail where I was had lied to me after the computer breach, so I switched to another retail. They gave me Aurobindo Valsartan. It caused extreme faintness. I'd take the pill at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and then by 4 o'clock I'd feel this pressure in the back of my neck, rising up and pushing into my brain. Once I was behind the wheel of a car. I pulled over to the side to let the episode pass. I got home and waited for the 'swinging' to stop. Fortunately, I had a near doctor appointment. She switched me to twice a day--- Losartan with water pill 50 mg for the morning and plain Losartan 50 before bed. These pills started me back up again with hot flashes. I got depressed. I'd sweat like everything all the time. Hot cold hot cold. I didn't know the SAME 'swinging' was happening to me because I'd take the one right before sleeping.

The Losartan in the morning was North Star distributer manufactured at Aurobindo. And the Losartan at night was solely Aurobindo (distributer/manuf). It was the nighttime Losartan that was causing the swinging, the faintness! One night I sat up after taking my pill and two hours later....the pressures started! The pressures weren't strong because I was only taking 50 mg. I realized that the same thing was happening to me that had happened with the Aurobindo Valsartan, so I stopped taking it all together. So now I'm taking just the morning pill and my blood pressure is about 150 over 96. There is no swinging. I called North Star and asked why the difference. North Star (American out of TN) told me that their company specifies certain stuff and the Indian (Country of India) Aurobindo complies with their request. I called the new New Jersey Aurobindo office and spoke with an Indian. She took my information, but never sent anything like she promised to send. She was prepping for a legal case, I think. They didn't have a toll free number so I paid a big price so that they could get prepped.

I still didn't learn the difference between the morning pill and the night pill. I called the pharmacy at the hospital who told me that all the ingredients are listed on the internet (private internet) for the pharmacists. He could print off what was in the North Star and also the other Aurobindo pill and send them to my doctor who could compare. I haven't gotten the results of this comparison back. I heard that the FDA just approved Aurobindo to push pills in the American market without going through a distributer like North Star. This happened Jan 2015. So I'm figuring this: Aurobindo KNOWS what the specifications are of their competitor. They are producing a bad product because it is cheaper to make it poorly. Pretty soon us blood pressure needing people will ONLY be able to buy THEIR product which is totally bad! I put in an FDA complaint, however I do not think anything will be done about this. Obama had lunch with the Indian prez...it is thick like pea soup. I really think that all the people here need to file their issues with the FDA. At least there was an effort. the FDA....well, they probably won't listen because everyone knows the gov is so for their own selves and everyone else...they can jump off a bridge.

It is totally important that if you are having troubles with Aurobindo to make it plan and clear that YOU ARE SENSITIVE to this manufactured product. Because, your regular doctor can't treat you if you should go to the hospital. You will get a new doctor assigned to you. This is the new trend. No doctors have hospital admitting privileges anymore. ONLY certain doctors called 'hospitalists' can admit you. You MUST always go through the ER to obtain your hospitalist. These doctors don't know you from Adam. If your history records do not show that you cannot take Aurobindo....then you will be given Aurobindo because it is cheap.
And most probably because the ER hospitalist doctor is pro Indian.

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I have also been taking this generic brand. I looked them up online and am not happy with report given on this company. I will also talk to my doctor about giving me prescription for another company.

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I see doctor tomorrow and will discus this drug with her. When I looked up Aurobindo online I was disturbed to read how many times they were cited (repeatedly). Not always taken care of. Why aren't we able to have a choice.

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Just found this forum with the same question. I started with Novartis Diovan HCT and tried the Sandoz and Qualitest brand generics successfully. Mylan is bad for me along with Aurobindo. I was told today by Kaiser pharmacy that Sandoz and Qualitest no longer produce valsartan hctz. Does anyone have a good experience with another manufacturer?

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I was originally on Sandoz brand Valsartan from Riteaid. For some reason I could no longer get Sandoz brand. Now I'm on Mylan brand for last 1-2 years and every time which is twice day I have very bad stomach and back pain for 2-3 hours after taking it. I just feel horrible all over. I dont think it is controling my blood pressure either. There is a definitely difference in these brands. I had called Sandoz company to try to get their brand to no avail. Has anyone been able to find Sandoz Valsartan at any pharmacy? Please advise. Thanks for any info.

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I had been taking Valsartan 80 mg, MFG by Sandoz with no problems, blood pressure under control. All of a sudden I go to get a refill and I get another brand, causing an upset stomach. I go back to the pharmacy, they give me another manufacturer's version, which turned out to be no good. I asked about Valsartan 80 mg and they said we no longer carry it. I have tried many drugs stores and the answer is we no longer carry, or can't get it.

What is going on? I cannot get a straight answer.

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I did some research, found that the Sandoz Plant was closed by Diovan, the Parent Company. I have some 160 that I split, then some 40 that I will double up on. After that don't know what I will do.

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Have been taking Diovan 80 mg. for over 10 years; fantastic! MD wrote RX for valsartan (Sandoz mfg. only) to save me $$. This refill, by ExpressScripts, the pharmacist calls and give ME the choice of 4 manufacturers. My MD knows nothing about the companies, etc. Costco can get Valsartan but there's a limited supply. Will discuss with MD. Healthcare is going down the tubes....guess we are all becoming disposable entities.

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Same here, I had been on diovan for 7 years, my insurance would no longer pay for it. I was given several brands made in china and india and they would always make me sick. Those other brands had to much inert ingredients, that's why a 80 or 160 mg sandoz/diovan is much smaller than the generic brands from other mfgs. I was able to get sandoz brand which is identical to diovan with no problems. Then in late 2016 was informed sandoz brand will not be made in us but is being made in canada. However no one will import it to the us, that's what I was told. So I am stuck again trying to figure out what to take without killing myself. What happened to the nafta free trade act between us, canada and mexico? I discovered huge profits for importers of china and india made drugs although there has been quality problems with these meds. It seems people are being forced to take poor quality drugs vs good quality so everyone else in the med business can get rich at the cost of american's health. This is a total disgrace. Why so many middle men, and how did pharmacy companies get power to override the authority of your doctors? I was told I had to take express scripts brand of meds or do without by express scripts customer service. This is all bull and something needs to be done about it.

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I had used Diovan 160 mg and my blood pressure was well controlled. When my wife was prescribed the generic - valsartan 320 mg, she collected the medication from CVS Pharmacy at 290 N. Denton Tap Road in Coppell Texas. Her blood pressure which was 130/80 before she took the medication jumped to 180/130 in a matter of 4 hours and was still rising until my wife took my own Diovan 160 mg before the blood pressure came down to 110/80. The offending valsartan is Aurobindo brand. I reported this case to the pleasant lady pharmacist and I said to her "your pharmacy gave us a placebo, this Aurobindo valsartan is not working." She said, "We do not give placebos". Why is the FDA joking with the lives of Americans? After the experience of forged drug data by Ranbaxy of India, why should the FDA trust another Indian drug company and thereby surrender the lives of Americans to these fake companies? The Valsartan by Aurobindo is fake.

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Same thing for me: after Lisinopril made me cough incessantly, upon complaining, they put me on Valsartan (AUROBINDO PH). Over 15 days, this pink stuff has done nothing! Nada, zilch if not increase BP & heart rate. I suspected it to be fake (so trendy LOL), but doc's office refuses to believe. We consumers must have a way to get these fake stuff analyzed independently at their cost, dont you think?

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Most of the generics manufactured in India are not effective. Where can one find a generic ARB that is not manufactured in India and also is not by TEVA?
Please help.

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Re: Verwon (# 1)

Bioequivalence is a fancy word (meaning it's expected to be the same), however in the real world it's the extra non-active ingredients that cause people to have side effects, and most generics are only required to be 80% effective. The big Pharm companies want you to buy these meds from China and India that have had problems with quality vs companies that make meds in Canada and USA; they ignore the NAFTA agreement when it comes to buying meds from Canada or US.

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Re: John (# 16)

Because big pharmacy companies are making tons of money forcing you to take the cheap drugs, there are good quality meds in the US and Canada, but good quality cost more. Some companies are telling customers these good meds are no longer available but they are. These benefit-managers make more money selling you poor quality. They do not care about your health.

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My husband and I have been on Diovan for years, then several years ago insurance quit paying so we were switched to valsartan, I believe Sandoz. Last year they switched us to Aurbindo valsartan, we noticed that our blood pressure was not as regulated. Last year my husband started coughing up mucous and had a horrible sinus infection. He has been on inhalers, several rounds of oral antibiotics and steroids, as well as injections.Nothing will clear it up. Then several months ago I started with the same symptoms, antibiotics didn't work for me either. I finally realized the only thing we are taking in common was the valsartan and I started researching - they listed our symptoms exactly. We have stopped taking the valsartan but are both still coughing up mucous. We have children in our home and none of them are sick so this doesn't appear to be contagious. I talked to my doctor but he didn't seem to think it was the valsartan, even though it has been recalled. I hope we get better eventually, but this has been going on for months for me, and over a year for my husband and it hasn't improved at all.

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Re: John (# 29)

I have had problems with Aurobindo also. I feel my drug store (Company) found the cheapest product and said the hell with the quality.

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Hello, My wife has also had problems with several types of Diovan generics. Sandoz did fine. Sandoz is still available in Canada and it is very cheap. Actually, you can get Diovan in Canada. We live in Minneapolis. I just filled a prescription for 180 tablets of 160/25 Diovan/HCTZ for $60 USD. Pharmacies will mail it to you if you can get their doctor to fax them one. Or I went myself to Windsor, ON, the first time to verify the pharmacy. Here is an informative video (What you need to know to get your medications from Canada legally). We use Hunter's Pharmacy as mentioned in the video but Shopper's Pharmacy also would do this. Maybe others. My wife is on Medicare. I am saving the feds a couple grand per year doing this. And a few thousand of mine as well.

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The solution is to start a mass litigation against Aurobindo for bad quality drugs. FDA does not care. The mass litigation is not intended for money making but to save Americans. Aurobindo has so much bad repute for bad drugs; such that it cannot survive a mass action suit in the US. How many people have died from those drugs? Let us be patriotic and save Americans from this ordeal. {edited for privacy}.

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Re: Verwon (# 1)


GIVE US A BREAK. You are bound to be a plant working for the collaborators in the fraud. Aurobindo makes seven of my medications. One by one, I researched the polluted, non-compliant versions of my meds. Going to India was an intentional fraud because they don't have the regulations and compelled compliance we have. People are being poisoned. One of mine was found to contain "unacceptable" organisms. What is that? Are some organisms acceptable? Other findings BY THE FDA include symptoms, up to and including, anaphylactic shock from binding agents, little to no active ingredient included, toxins, meds not made to specification, etc. People ARE getting sick and are not getting relief! Stop your posts misleading people. People are not stupid. The people will prevail.

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Has anyone sued Aurobindo for all these ineffective valsartans? There is need for mass action suit to address these problems or else it will not stop.

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Although I was told by Walmart Pharmacy in Canada i can get sandoz 80mg valsartan (180 pills / 90 day supply) for $69, I tried several other brands. The brand Solco 80 mg seems to be working for me. It took several weeks to adjust. I take two a day and the method that works for me is that i break one in half and take 40mg in the morning, 80 mg in the afternoon and 40mg in the evening at about 8.00 pm. I have very little if any tiredness. I found the best price was to buy it from a mom and pop store for cash and not use insurance. PBM companies are manipulating prices no matter if you get them from large Pharmacies or discount stores here in the US. The privately owned small stores offer the best price. Shop around and don't be cheated on your meds. My other med is $14 cash vs $20 with insurance.

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Has anyone tried Canadadrugs? A doctor mentioned it to me and their website shows Sandoz manufactured valsartan HCTZ available and ready to dispense. In exploring the site, it appears you need to pay with a check or AMEX card instead of through insurance, but the Sandoz brand is worth it to me.

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Re: Robin (# 17)

Dont always trust your doctors they are pressured to treat you and write scripts. i know of a doctor who was very experience for many years, told his patient all they needed was to take some vitamins because of an deficiency instead of writting a script for some meds, the doctor was fired for telling the patient that was all they needed.

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Re: Rec (# 22)

I was told to find a real pharm store in Canada and call them.

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