Japanese Pharma Companies Start Voluntary Recall Of Heparin
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that Osaka-based Fuso Pharmaceutical, Tokyo-based Terumo Corp. and Tokushima-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical have begun recalling 17 heparin products. American drug maker Baxter Healthcare's heparin has been linked to severe side effects, including 21 deaths. The three Japanese companies use the same active ingredient for heparin as Baxter, which is imported from American company Scientific Protein Laboratories and made from materials in China. In Japan, 70 percent to 80 percent of the 270,000 dialysis patients use heparin, and Fuso and Otsuka products combined account for 50 percent of the heparin market. (Click here for more - Japanese language