Heparin Recall Linked to Deaths
The FDA reported that additional patient deaths may be linked to Heparin, the blood thinner, so Baxter International Inc. is recalling the drug (the remaining lots of single and multi-dose injection and it will recall HEP-LOCK products).
In February, Baxter recalled nine lots of heparin multi-dose after the drug’s use was linked to four deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions.
Now 17 other deaths are being investigated because of a link to heparin. The FDA is cautioning against immediately linking the deaths to Heparin since many of the patients were already sick so a definitive cause of death has not been established.
The active ingredient in Heparin is made from membranes of pig intestines. The pig membranes were supplied by a Chinese plant,Changzhou SPL, co-owned by a Wisconsin company, Scientific Protein Laboratories of Waunakee.
Heparin is frequently used as a blood thinner to avoid clots.
Baxter is the largest maker of Heparin.
Baxter had approximately $30 million in sales of Heparin in 2007.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
