SFDA: Tainted human protein caused six deaths in Jiangxi

By Li Xinran  |   2008-7-8  |     ONLINE EDITION

SIX patients were confirmed to have died from a tainted human protein produced by a pharmaceutical company in Jiangxi Province, said the State Food and Drug Administration.

Problems found in test samples of human immunoglobulin should be linked to the deaths, said Yan Jianying, the spokeswomen of the administration, at a press conference today.

The drug regulator and the country's health department banned sales of human immunoglobulin by Jiangxi Boya Bio-pharmaceutical Co on May 29.

Problems were only found in products with the batch number 20070514, Yan said. The Ministry of Public Security has launched an investigation.

Drug regulators around the country have sealed the human protein while the administration dispatched a task force to Jiangxi.

Six people died between May 22 and 28 at No. 2 Hospital Affiliated with Nanchang University in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, after being given the tainted protein.

Human immunoglobulin is a protein produced from human plasma cells and lymphocytes. It plays an essential role in the body's immune system. The protein attaches itself to foreign substances such as bacteria and assists in destroying them.