Scientists show how tainted blood thinner turned deadly

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — An international team of researchers racing against the clock have figured out how tainted batches of the blood thinner heparin slipped past safety screens to kill dozens of patients in the United States and Germany, according to a pair of studies released Thursday.

The scientists, led by MIT professor Ram Sasisekharan, identified the contaminant, and have shown how it triggered deadly allergic reactions that left at least 81 dead in the United States alone.

"There was an absolute imperative to solve this health crisis as quickly as possible," Sasisekharan, who coordinated both studies, told AFP by email.

Based on their findings, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified the toxic substance earlier this week as a synthetic compound...