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July 25, 2008 11:21:32 AM CDT

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Heparin Supply Chain Shaky in China

Posted Feb 28, 08 2:07 PM CST in Business,  World 

(Newser) – With at least four US patients dead and hundreds suffering complications from the blood-thinning drug heparin, the New York Times follows the supply chain back to Chinese slaughterhouses that deal with the pig intestines that provide raw material for the drug. Though companies say the chain is secure, the Times finds it vulnerable to contamination and lack of oversight.

American investigators are trying to determine where in the process the crude heparin, refined from pig intestines, is being contaminated. Heparin-maker Baxter International has stopped producing multi-dose vials of the drug while investigators audit the records of a US company’s Chinese subsidiary, Changzhou SPL, which collects and refines the raw material.

Source New York Times

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Chinese workers watch a pharmaceutical production line at a Beijing factory.   (Getty Images)
A Chinese pharmaceutical worker holds vials of medicine.   (Getty Images)
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Tags

China  • medicine  • pharmaceutical companies  • pharmaceutical  • pharmaceutical industry  • Heparin  • Baxter International  • blood thinner  • supply chain  • Changzhou SPL


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