Baxter Pharmaceutical

A scandal dating from January 2008, that is continuing to unfold, raises more disturbing questions over the safety of U.S. pharmaceutical company Baxter International’s vaccines.

Last year Baxter recalled almost all of its injections of the blood thinning heparin drug in the US after some patients experienced extreme - and in some cases fatal - allergic reactions, after being administered the products.

There were similar recalls by other manufacturers of Chinese-sourced heparin in Denmark, Italy, France Germany and Japan, but initial investigations found that only Baxter’s heparin vaccines were tainted.

The FDA has accused two Chinese manufacturers of being responsible for the production and shipment of the tainted vaccines, suggesting that a cheaper synthetic heparin mimic, subsequently identified as over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), was used to decrease costs.

However, in January 2009 a new lawsuit was filed specifically against Baxter for it’s role in the scandal.

The allegation is that the pharmaceutical giant purposefully altered an ingredient in heparin that flowed through heparin syringes to patients, resulting in pain and suffering, and sometimes death, to those affected, reported legal website Lawyers and Settlements

Somewhat ironically, the natural ingredient in heparin that was substituted in order to cut costs was a substance extracted from cooked swine intestines.

The lawsuit notes that OSCS is not found in nature, and is not approved in the United States. It accuses Baxter of using a more dangerous ingredient to “reap greater profits as a result of utilizing cheap component parts.”

As we reported earlier this week, Baxter has been chosen by the WHO to head up efforts to produce a vaccine for the Mexican swine flu that is spreading throughout the U.S. and Europe.

The decision was made despite further revelations last month that vaccines contaminated with deadly live H5N1 avian flu virus were recently distributed to 18 countries by a lab at an Austrian branch of Baxter.

Initially, the company attempted to stonewall questions by invoking “trade secrets” and refused to reveal how the vaccines were contaminated with H5N1. After increased pressure they then claimed that pure H5N1 batches were sent by accident.

However, as we have highlighted, the probability of mixing a live virus biological weapon with vaccine material by accident is virtually impossible."

Source

Pharmaceutical behemoth Baxter International is turning its back on 41 chimpanzees who were used by the company (known then as Immuno) for decades in painful hepatitis and HIV experiments. The "Baxter chimpanzees," as they are known, were retired from the experiments in 1999 and sent to a safari park in Austria. Now, PETA has learned that Baxter plans to separate the chimpanzees and send them to zoos in Hungary.

The Baxter chimpanzees have already endured much suffering: They were captured as infants in Africa and watched as their families were slaughtered. In Immuno's laboratories, they were confined alone in cages, some spending more than 20 years in solitary isolation. Used as laboratory tools, the chimpanzees were prodded, injected, and manipulated, leading to the animals' psychological trauma. Ten years after being retired from the laboratory, the chimpanzees continue to suffer from abnormal behaviors, such as eating disorders, excessive and compulsive masturbation, hair-plucking, and self-injury.

Chimpanzees are our closest primate relatives, sharing 98 or 99 percent of our DNA. They are intelligent, exhibit unique personalities, forge deep and lasting friendships, and experience profound suffering. Several recent scientific studies document that chimpanzees who have endured life in a laboratory will suffer from psychological trauma similar to that of humans with post-traumatic stress disorder. It's no surprise, but the chimpanzees who were placed in rehabilitation and re-socialization programs fared better than those who were simply allowed to languish in warehouses. Sending the Baxter chimpanzees to a zoo will threaten any psychological progress made by the animals and will cause greater stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma for the animals.

PETA is calling on Baxter—which posted $2.82 billion in revenues last year—to ensure that the chimpanzees are not separated and are not sent to a zoo or any such facility that will further threaten their well-being.

Please contact Baxter CEO Robert L. Parkinson Jr. and urge him to take responsibility for the Baxter chimpanzees.

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