What is the valsartan contaminated blood pressure drug settlement?

A class action settlement for consumers and third-party payors (like insurance companies) who paid for generic valsartan blood pressure medication manufactured using Hetero Labs' Process III valsartan API between May 1, 2018 and July 31, 2018. The drugs were later found to be contaminated with NDMA, a cancer-causing chemical. This settlement covers economic losses only — meaning refunds for what you paid for the contaminated pills. It is part of the larger In Re: Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 19-MD-2875, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Who qualifies for the valsartan settlement?

All individuals and third-party payors in the United States and its territories who paid any amount of money for retail purchases of valsartan finished drug formulations manufactured using Hetero Process III Valsartan API between May 1, 2018 and July 31, 2018. In plain language: if you bought generic valsartan pills during that three-month window and the pills were made with ingredients from Hetero Labs, you likely qualify.

What is NDMA and why is it dangerous?

NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) is a chemical that belongs to a group called nitrosamines. It is classified as a probable human carcinogen, meaning it is likely to cause cancer in humans. NDMA was formerly used in the production of rocket fuel. It is not supposed to be present in medications at any significant level. The FDA found that certain generic valsartan pills contained NDMA as an unintended byproduct of manufacturing processes used by generic drug makers, including Hetero Labs in India.

When is the deadline to file a valsartan settlement claim?

The deadline to submit a claim form is June 2, 2026. Mailed claim forms must be postmarked by that date, and online claims must be submitted by then at SartanMedicationSettlement.com.

How much will I get from the valsartan settlement?

This is an economic loss settlement designed to reimburse class members for what they paid for the contaminated medication. Your payment will depend on the total settlement fund ($11,365,490), the number of claims filed, and court-approved costs. Payments are made pro rata, so the more you spent on Hetero valsartan, the larger your share.

Does this valsartan settlement cover cancer claims or medical injuries?

No. This settlement covers economic losses only — essentially a refund for the money you spent on contaminated valsartan pills. It does not cover claims for personal injury, cancer, medical monitoring, or any health-related damages. Those types of claims are being handled separately in the broader MDL litigation, where over 1,300 personal injury cases are still pending.

Does this settlement cover losartan or irbesartan?

This particular settlement only covers valsartan manufactured by Hetero Labs. However, two additional settlements have since been reached: Aurobindo Irbesartan ($2 million) and Vivimed Losartan ($1.899 million). All three share the same June 2, 2026 claim deadline and are administered through one website with one claim form.

Do I need proof to file a valsartan settlement claim?

Documentation is encouraged but not strictly required to file. If the administrator cannot verify your purchase, you may be asked to provide proof such as pharmacy receipts, a prescription bottle label, or a pharmacy-printed prescription history. Most pharmacies will print your prescription history for free, which helps prevent delays.

Valsartan Class Action Settlement 2026

Q: Was my blood pressure medicine recalled?

If you were taking generic valsartan between 2018 and 2019, there is a chance your pills were part of the recall. The FDA recalled hundreds of batches of generic valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan starting in July 2018 after finding them contaminated with NDMA. You can check the FDA's recall list to see if your specific medication was affected. Look at your prescription bottle for the manufacturer name and lot number, or ask your pharmacist. If the manufacturer was Camber Pharmaceuticals, your valsartan was almost certainly made with Hetero Labs' active ingredient.

By Steve Levine

Valsartan contaminated blood pressure drug class action settlement — NDMA recall, claim by June 2, 2026

Published: February 13, 2026

Status Claims Open final approval hearing scheduled June 30, 2026

Claim Deadline June 2, 2026

Settlement Fund $11,365,490 Hetero Valsartan · economic loss refund · part of $15.26M across all 3 sartan settlements

Proof Required No documentation encouraged but not strictly required · purchase period May 1 – July 31, 2018

What Is This Settlement About?

If you took a generic blood pressure medication called valsartan at any point between May and July of 2018, there is a chance the pills you were taking were contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical — and a class action settlement has been approved that could get your money back.

A federal judge in New Jersey granted preliminary approval of an $11,365,490 class action settlement covering people who purchased generic valsartan made by Hetero Labs during a specific three-month window. The settlement is designed to refund class members for what they spent on the contaminated pills. Claims are open now at SartanMedicationSettlement.com, and the deadline to file is June 2, 2026.

What Is Valsartan?

Valsartan is one of the most commonly prescribed blood pressure medications in the United States. Tens of millions of Americans take it. It belongs to a class of drugs called ARBs (angiotensin II receptor blockers), which work by relaxing blood vessels so blood can flow more easily, lowering blood pressure and reducing strain on the heart.

You may recognize valsartan by the brand name Diovan, which was manufactured by Novartis for decades. When the patent expired, generic drug companies around the world began manufacturing their own versions of valsartan. This settlement involves generic valsartan made by one of those companies: Hetero Labs, based in Telangana, India, whose finished drug products were sold in the U.S. by Camber Pharmaceuticals.

What Went Wrong?

In the summer of 2018, the FDA made a disturbing discovery. Certain batches of generic valsartan were contaminated with a chemical called NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine). NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen — in plain English, it's a chemical that likely causes cancer in people.

To put it in perspective: NDMA was formerly used in rocket fuel production. It is not a substance that is supposed to be present in medications at any level. But the FDA found that NDMA was being created as an unintended byproduct of manufacturing processes that certain generic drug makers used to produce valsartan's active ingredient.

The FDA issued massive recalls starting in July 2018. Hundreds of batches of valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan (all related blood pressure drugs) were pulled from pharmacy shelves across the country. The recalls expanded over the course of a year as more contaminated batches were identified.

The contamination wasn't limited to one company. Multiple manufacturers in China and India were affected, including Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical (China), Hetero Labs (India), Mylan, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma, and others. This settlement specifically covers the Hetero Labs contamination.

Was My Blood Pressure Medicine Recalled?

This is probably the first question on your mind, and it's an important one. Not all valsartan was recalled — only generic versions made by specific manufacturers.

Here's how to check: look at your prescription bottle or the paperwork that came with your medication. The manufacturer's name should be printed on the label. If it says Camber Pharmaceuticals, your valsartan was almost certainly made with Hetero Labs' active ingredient and is covered by this settlement.

If you don't have the bottle anymore, call your pharmacy and ask them to look up which manufacturer supplied your valsartan prescription. Pharmacies keep these records. You can also check the FDA's recall list for valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan, which lists every affected manufacturer and lot number.

The brand-name version of valsartan (Diovan, made by Novartis) was not affected by the contamination. This recall only involved generic versions.

Can Valsartan Cause Cancer?

Valsartan itself — the active ingredient — is not the problem. The issue is what happened during the manufacturing process at certain generic drug factories.

When companies like Hetero Labs manufactured the active ingredient for generic valsartan, they used a production process that unintentionally created NDMA as a byproduct. NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen. Long-term exposure to NDMA has been linked to cancers of the liver, stomach, colon, kidney, bladder, esophagus, lungs, prostate, and blood.

Over 1,300 people who took contaminated valsartan and were later diagnosed with cancer have filed personal injury lawsuits. Those cases are separate from this economic loss settlement and are still being litigated.

If you took contaminated valsartan and have been diagnosed with cancer, this settlement is not the right vehicle for your claim. You should speak with a personal injury attorney about your specific situation.

Who Qualifies?

You are a class member if you are an individual or third-party payor (like a health insurance company) in the United States or its territories who paid any amount for retail purchases of valsartan finished drug formulations manufactured using Hetero Labs' Process III valsartan API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) between May 1, 2018 and July 31, 2018.

In simpler terms: if you bought generic valsartan pills during that three-month window and the pills were made with ingredients from Hetero Labs (sold under the Camber Pharmaceuticals label, among others), you likely qualify.

The class does not include claims related to losartan or irbesartan (those are being handled in separate settlement tracks), claims for personal injury or cancer, or the Hetero Defendants and their employees, officers, and directors.

How Much Will I Get?

The total settlement fund is $11,365,490. Because this is an economic loss settlement, payouts are designed to reimburse what class members paid for the contaminated medication. Your individual payment will depend on the size of the fund after court-approved attorneys' fees, administration costs, and service awards, the number of claims filed, and how much you spent. Payments are made pro rata, so the more you paid for Hetero valsartan, the larger your share.

Do I Need Proof?

Documentation is encouraged but not strictly required to file. If you still have an old bottle of valsartan, a pharmacy receipt, or an insurance explanation of benefits, include it with your claim. If you no longer have records, your pharmacy can print your full prescription history for free, showing the manufacturer of each fill. If the administrator cannot otherwise verify your purchase, you may be asked to supply that documentation, so providing it up front helps prevent delays.

How Do I File a Claim?

Submit your claim online at SartanMedicationSettlement.com, or download a paper claim form from that website and mail it to the Settlement Administrator at the address listed in the official notice. The deadline to file a claim is June 2, 2026. Mailed claim forms must be postmarked by that date. If you are filing on the last day, see our news alert, $15.26 million blood pressure drug settlement deadline (June 2, 2026), which covers the Hetero, Aurobindo, and Vivimed claims on one form.

Important Dates

• Preliminary Approval: February 2, 2026 (Docket #3241)
• Claim Form Deadline: June 2, 2026
• Opt-Out (Exclusion) Deadline: June 2, 2026
• Objection Deadline: June 2, 2026
• Final Approval Hearing: June 30, 2026 at 10:00 AM — Courtroom 3D, Mitchell H. Cohen Building & U.S. Courthouse, Camden, NJ

What About Losartan and Irbesartan?

This is an important distinction. The valsartan recall was not just about valsartan — it eventually expanded to include two related blood pressure drugs, losartan and irbesartan, which were also contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.

This particular settlement only covers valsartan manufactured by Hetero Labs. However, two additional settlements have since been reached for the other contaminated drugs: Aurobindo Irbesartan ($2 million) and Vivimed Losartan ($1.899 million). All three settlements share the same claim deadline of June 2, 2026 and are administered through one website with one claim form.

If you took losartan or irbesartan that was recalled, you may qualify for those settlements as well. See our complete guide to all three blood pressure drug settlements for full details, including eligibility for each. If you specifically took Vivimed losartan, see our in-depth Vivimed Losartan settlement page for impacted NDC numbers and NMBA contamination details, or our Aurobindo Irbesartan settlement page for the IC Route of Synthesis class period.

The Bigger Picture: The Valsartan MDL

This settlement is one piece of what has become one of the largest pharmaceutical litigations in the country. The overall case — In Re: Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 19-MD-2875 — has been ongoing since 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, before Judge Renee M. Bumb.

Over 1,300 personal injury lawsuits are currently pending from individuals who developed cancers (including liver, stomach, colorectal, kidney, bladder, esophageal, lung, prostate, and blood cancers) that they attribute to NDMA exposure from contaminated valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan. Multiple defendants are involved, including manufacturers in China and India and distributors in the United States.

The Hetero economic loss settlement is the first major class-wide settlement to reach preliminary approval in the MDL. Personal injury claims and economic loss claims against other defendants are still being litigated.

What Happens If I Do Nothing?

If you do nothing, you will still be considered part of the settlement class. You will not receive any payment, and you will release your economic loss claims against the Hetero Defendants related to the sale of their contaminated valsartan. In other words, you give up your right to sue Hetero for a refund on the contaminated pills — and get nothing in return.

If you want to preserve your right to sue Hetero separately for economic losses, you must opt out by June 2, 2026. If you want to receive a payment, you must submit a claim form by June 2, 2026.

Attorneys and Legal Representation

The court appointed consumer class counsel Ruben Honik (Honik Law, Philadelphia), Conlee S. Whiteley (Kanner & Whiteley, LLP, New Orleans), and John R. Davis (Slack Davis Sanger LLP, Austin). Third-party payor class counsel are Jorge A. Mestre (Rivero Mestre LLP, Miami) and Gregory P. Hansel (Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios, Chartered, LLP, Portland, ME). The Settlement Administrator is EAG Gulf Coast, LLC.

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Claim Form Website: SartanMedicationSettlement.com

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Official Settlement Notice

Sources

• Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Approval of Hetero Valsartan Economic Loss Class Action Settlement, Docket No. 3241, filed February 2, 2026, In Re: Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 19-MD-2875 (D.N.J.)
• Official Settlement Website — SartanMedicationSettlement.com
• FDA: Search List of Recalled ARBs Including Valsartan, Losartan and Irbesartan
• OpenClassActions — Vivimed Losartan Settlement ($1.899M)
• OpenClassActions — Aurobindo Irbesartan Settlement ($2M)

Filing Class Action Settlement Claims

Please submit only truthful and accurate claims. Submitting false information can result in denial of benefits and potential penalties. If you are unsure whether you qualify, review the official notice or contact Class Counsel. OpenClassActions.com is a consumer news site and is not the settlement administrator or a law firm.

For more class actions keep scrolling below.

Settlement Amount $11,365,490

Case Title In Re: Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Products Liability Litigation

Case Number MDL No. 19-MD-2875 (1:19-md-02875-RBK-SAK)

Court U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

Final Approval Hearing June 30, 2026 at 10:00 AM Courtroom 3D, Camden, NJ · Judge Renee M. Bumb

Administrator EAG Gulf Coast, LLC

Official Website Sartan Medication Settlement.com