Chinese Manufacturing of Pharmaceuticals Puts Patients at Risk
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The decision by Baxter International to hire a Chinese pharmaceutical supplier to provide ingredients in the blood thinner heparin has been blamed for dozens of patient deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide. The controversial move calls into question the growing practice of Western drug manufacturers in relying on Chinese pharmaceutical firms, who often do not follow the same safety standards as American and European firms.
Critics contend the cost-cutting move to go overseas and contract with Chinese pharmaceutical plants to produce drug ingredients potentially puts millions of patients unnecessarily at risk of death and serious injury.
Halt Chinese Manufacturing Pending Further Investigation
Mark & Associates, P.C. is now accepting Baxter heparin-related claims. Our experienced, aggressive and knowledgeable defective drug attorneys are tirelessly committed to fighting for the legal rights of Baxter heparin patients.
Our attorneys urge Baxter and other drug manufacturers to stop using Chinese pharmaceutical suppliers until it can be conclusively shown that accepted safety standards are being upheld overseas. Without such assurances, pharmaceutical companies cannot adequately safeguard patients who rely on the authenticity of the pharmaceuticals and trust the drugs with their lives.
Counterfeit Ingredient Came From China
Beginning in late 2007, Baxter heparin was blamed for fatal, allergic reactions, mostly in heart surgery patients and people undergoing kidney dialysis procedures. Heparin had previously proven effective at preventing blood clotting that can be fatal in such procedures.
After hundreds of complaints of adverse reactions to the drug started pouring in to the Food and Drug Administration, a total recall of the popular anticoagulant drug was launched in March 2008. Soon after, it was learned that Scientific Protein Laboratories, the Chinese pharmaceutical firm hired by Baxter, was using a sophisticated counterfeit ingredient instead of the proper active ingredient for heparin.
Now that Chinese officials have now admitted fault and said the fraudulent ingredient their manufacturing plant used in making Baxter heparin caused the adverse reactions, focus has shifted to the widespread practice of hiring Chinese firms to manufacture drugs that are administered to patients around the world. The policy has been criticized as having unreasonably serious risks that greatly outweigh any financial benefits.
Other Chinese Manufacturing Scandals
Chinese manufacturing had already taken a huge public relations hit in the months before the Baxter heparin scandal unfolded. American toy manufacturers such as Mattel were forced to recall millions of toys in 2007 after learning that Chinese factories hired to make toys had used lead-based paints. From the popular Thomas the Tank Engine wooden railroad trains to the Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go! products, the negative impact of Chinese manufacturing was vast and costly.
Also in 2007, a widespread recall of tainted pet food was announced after it was revealed that contaminated vegetable proteins from Chinese factories were killing and sickening thousands of pets.
However, in the wake of the tainted toys and pet food scandals, Baxter and other pharmaceutical manufacturers continued to rely on Chinese manufacturing to produce popular drugs, including heparin. While no deaths were directly attributed to Chinese-made toys containing lead paint, the impact of tainted heparin was immediate and deadly.
The FDA admitted it had violated its own policies when it failed to inspect Baxter’s Chinese manufacturing facility before the tainted heparin made its way onto American pharmacy shelves. To critics of Chinese manufacturing, this oversight was a crystal-clear illustration of how difficult regulating foreign companies will be for the FDA, casting further doubt over the safety of Chinese-made pharmaceuticals.
Posted under: Dangerous Drugs • Heparin