Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Scientists are proposing new standards for testing the quality and safety of heparin with new equipment that can analyze a broader range of impurities than the screening tools currently in use, according to the Daily Herald. The proposal stems from last year’s tainted heparin scandal that resulted in the deaths of more than 80 Americans and illness in hundreds more. Batches of heparin were later found to have been contaminated with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS) during manufacturing at Baxter International’s China plant. OSCS is a heparin-mimicking contaminant that can cause serious allergic reactions in humans.

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