Pakistan shuts down pharma facility after deaths
Staff reporter, 24-Jan-2012
The authorities in Pakistan
have shut down a manufacturing facility in Punjab on suspicion of
producing medicines that have killed dozens of people, according to
local news reports.
The estimated number of deaths from the incident is rising, with an
initial official figure of 27 now superseded by estimates in the
press of 60-70-plus.
Reports have suggested that the medicines which were substandard,
spurious and in some cases past their expiry dates are involved in
the incident.
One theory for the cause of the fatalities is suspected metal
contamination of cardiovascular medicines made at the unidentified
plant, including Cardiovestin (simvastatin) for high cholesterol,
antiplatelet drug Alfagril (clopidogrel), antihypertensive Concort
(amlodipine) and a low-dose formulation of aspirin sold as
Soloprin.
Earlier this week Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency arrested
the owners of three drugmakers - Alfalah Pharma, Mega
Pharmaceuticals and Pharmawise Laboratories – thought to be
responsible for supplying the drugs to the state-run Punjab
Institute of Cardiology (PIC), which in turned provided them to
patients.
Many of the patients who received the medicines are reported to
have been given them free of charge.
The probe also appears to be widening to include officials at PIC,
as well as provincial drug inspectors and drug testing lab
staff.
Media reports on the incident remain somewhat confused and
contradictory at present, but there have been suggestions that
‘spurious' drugs may also be involved, according to Pakistan’s
Dawn newspaper.
The paper cites the Punjab government’s Drug Testing Laboratory as
indicating that samples of Cardiovestin from Mega Pharma were
spurious.
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