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China Finds Fake Protein in IV Drips
Counterfeit albumin discovered in hospitals and pharmacies
By Colleen Barry
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Posted Jun 12, 07 6:19 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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In yet another product-safety scandal, fake blood protein has been found in IV drips in 60 hospitals and pharmacies in northeastern China, the BBC reports. Albumin, or plasma protein, is administered to patients suffering from burns or undergoing open-heart surgery; the counterfeit contained no protein at all.
Officials did not disclose whether there were casualties from as the substitutions; a Chinese newspaper reported one death. China is beginning to tighten regulation of food and drug products after a series of frauds; last month the country's top regulator was sentenced to death for taking bribes to approve improperly tested medicines.