Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told a Congressional hearing that it believes a contaminant found in batches of heparin, which have killed at least 8l patients, might have been deliberately added. The source of the contaminant-oversulfated chondroitin sulphate-has been traced backto a Chinese supplier of drug manufacturer Baxter International. Why the stocks might have been intentionally contaminated is unclear, but the fact that oversulfated chondroitin sulphate is structurally similar to heparin but about 100 times cheaper, raises the very real possibility that it could have been added by counterfeiters.
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