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Big trouble again for the magic blood thinner Heparin. Health officials identified a contaminant in batches of the medication associated with 19 deaths and are trying to determine how the chemical got into the drug. The lots of heparin were recalled on the 28th of February and there has been no new deaths. The key ingredient in this case was imported from China.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, head of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the contaminant is oversulfated condroitin sulfate, a chemical that does not occur naturally. Condroitin sulfate is a natural compound that occurs widely and is used as a dietary supplement but the oversulfated version has not been widely studied. “We cannot rule in or out whether this was accidentally or deliberately introduced into the product,” Woodcock said, “We are investigating how it got in.”
The lots were marketed by Baxter International and China has given full cooperation in getting to the bottom of this. Does this make you nervous? Do events like this frighten you into not wanting to comply to medication?
More to come as this is updated…
via Comcast.net
