Saundersblog.com

Heparin deaths and allergic reactions appear to extend beyond the nine lots disclosed by Baxter a week ago according to a Wall Street Journal Report on Thursday February 14,2008. Heparin is used for a wide variety of medical procedures to prevent clotting such as kidney dialysis and open heart surgery. Baxter did not suspend sales of heparin because it markets about 50% of the heparin on the market and suspension of sales would cause a shortage. This decision was made in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Baxter confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it gets the active pharmaceutical ingredient for heparin from a Chinese factory that had not been inspected. Our firm is investigating these cases and I expect that we will discover that again the FDA is understaffed and underfunded to protect the public from the danger of poor manufacturing practices in China.

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