Chinese regulators accused Baxter of failing to co-operate in an investigation over deaths linked to impurities in blood thinner heparin.

The charge, swiftly denied by Baxter, marked a fresh escalation in Sino-US trade tensions since reports of at least 81 deaths linked to contaminated heparin in the US have triggered withdrawals in 11 countries.

The State Food and Drug Administration, China’s drugs regulator, said on Tuesday that Baxter had not provided all samples and information requested during a visit last month to its New Jersey plant. The SFDA reiterated its position that there was no proven link between the deaths in the US of patients and “a heparin-like substance” found in the drug.

Baxter replied: “We have been co-operating with all parties in the heparin situation including SFDA and the Chinese government. We plan to continue co-operating with them to help move the investigation forward. We will seek to understand any concerns to the contrary.”

Here’s the rest of the story, courtesy of the Financial Times:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3587b9b0-1ba7-11dd-9e58-0000779fd2ac.html

Per the larger issue of “tainted” vs. “counterfeit” ingredients, consider the comments of Robert Parkinson, Baxter’s chief executive, who said that the issue in question “appears to be the target of a deliberate adulteration scheme.”

Translation:  Counterfeiting.

There are a lot of issues here that need to be addressed – most notably criminal opportunism.

Consider the Chinese proverb, “Flies never visit an egg that has no crack.”

We must seal the cracks.