KENNEDY ON FDA IDENTIFICATION OF HEPARIN CONTAMINANT

The following press release was published by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on March 18, 2008. It is reproduced in full below.

WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the FDA’s announcement that they have identified the contaminant in the blood thinner heparin, a chemical compound called oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. Senator Kennedy will be sending letters to the FDA and industry later today. “It is unacceptable that Americans have died and been seriously injured by what appears to be deliberate tampering. Whether this contaminant was introduced intentionally or by accident, the full force of the law must be brought to bear to bring those responsible to justice. To guard against future abuses, every drug manufacturer needs to inform FDA of where it sources its ingredients and what it is doing to ensure that these ingredients are pure and potent."

Source: Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions