As production goes global, drug supply faces greater risks to safety, quality.

摘要

A SUDDEN SPIKE IN ADVERSE EVENTS among patients receiving dialysis in 2007 led public health authorities on an international chase to find the cause. The culprit, it turned out, was adulterated heparin that contained over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate, a substance added to the drug at some point during its production in China.The adulteration, estimated to have netted the individuals responsible for adding the chemical between Dollars 1 million and Dollars 3 million, led to hundreds of adverse events, including at least 3 deaths, according to a recent report (http://tinyurl.com/3nhypp7) from the Pew Health Group about the growing risks of substandard and counterfeit medications resulting from the increasing overseas production of pharmaceu-ticals and their ingredients.