Effects of the July 2018 worldwide valsartan recall and shortage on global trends in antihypertensive medication use: a time-series analysis in 83 countries.

Global valsartan purchases substantially decreased post-recall, highlighting the far-reaching impacts of drug shortages. Opposing utilisation trends by economic level raise concerns of potential distribution of contaminated medications from developed countries to developing countries. Concerted actions for equitable global access to quality medications and mitigation of drug shortages are needed.