HEPARIN RECALL DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR DRUG IS FROM HEPARIN AND INSULIN JUST SOME EXAMPLES OF THE GLOBALIZATION Of DRUG MANUFACTURE

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The recent problems with the drug heparin seem to involve the manufacture of heparin with ingredients from China. Heparin is a so called blood thinner, it is an anticoagulant, it interferes with blood clot formation. Heparin interferes with thrombin, which is a protein involved in the steps that lead to a blood clot in the blood.



"Batches of the blood thinner heparin were recalled worldwide.., after at least 19 deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions were reported in the United States..The Food and Drug Administration found that some heparin ingredients produced in a Chinese factory had been contaminated with a man-made chemical called oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. The substance mimics the blood-thinning actions of heparin but is cheaper to produce".











The LA Times has a great article Is the medicine you depend on made in a place you trust? "When parents hear that a certain toy has lead in its paint, they can choose not to buy it. But people who rely on specific drugs to keep them well may not have that choice. Moreover, they may not know where their drugs were manufactured, making informed decisions all but impossible. Incredibly, the FDA doesn't require drug companies to disclose where prescription medicines come from. Companies are free to say as much, or as little, as they please". In the article, he discusses other examples of medical items, such as insulin whose origin you may think you know but are wrong.

Is the medicine you depend on made in a place you trust?