As the Chinese government continues to insist that it had nothing to do with the tainted anti-coagulant heparin supplies found in stocks in the U.S. supply, officials have found contaminated heparin in 11 other countries. Meanwhile, the tainted heparin is now suspected in 81 deaths here. The Food and Drug Administration has identified 12 Chinese plants that have supplied tainted heparin to Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the U.S. However, the origin of the contaminant is still being investigated. It is suspected that the added ingredient, hypersulfated chondroitin sulfate, is the culprit and that it was fraudulently added into the supply chain at some point.
The U.S.-China heparin row has taken on a new dimension with the Chinese government insisting that it be allowed to inspect the New Jersey plant where finished heparin vials are made. The plant is run by Illinois-based Baxter International. Ning Chen, second secretary at the Chinese Embassy states, “We don’t have strong evidence to show that it is heparin or its contaminant that caused the problem.” He states further that the problem has only been in the U.S., and refutes the finding that other nations were affected.
This seems to add to the fuel already on the fire regarding the safety of products from China. Lately products as diverse as tainted fish, toxins in pet food, lead in toys, and poisonous toothpaste have created problems between China and the U.S. This week has already seen the FDA send a warning letter to Changzhou SPL, the plant in China tracked down as the probable source of contaminated heparin. The letter states that the plant is unclean, the ingredients to make heparin, pig intestines, were received from an unacceptable vendor, and that the plant has no way to remove the impurities.
China has promised reforming the way products imported into the U.S. are created, going as far as executing the top Chinese food and drug regulator for taking bribes, but they also accuse “foreign forces” of making something out of nothing.
Another part of this issue that has come to light is that the FDA is badly underfunded. It is believed that, at the current pace, it will take the FDA over 25 years to inspect every foreign plant that exports medicines to the U.S., 13 years for every foreign drug plant, and almost 2,000 years to check out every foreign food plant. The Bush administration has acknowledged the problem, but Bush’s current budget does not provide funds for the FDA to hire more inspectors. Should we get used to hearing more about substandard products from places like China?
If you or a loved one has been sickened by tainted heparin, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
