PASTEUR MERiEUX SUSPENDS Ig DRUGS

The French vaccines and blood products group Pasteur Merieux, part of the Rhone-Poulenc group, has suspended the distribution of three immuno-globulin products, Allerglobulin, Gamma 16 and Veinoglobulines, in France. The three products, of placental origin and used in the treatment of allergy, hepatitis and immunoglobulin deficiency, were expected to achieve sales of about 90 million francs this year, according to the company.

The company says it is following the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, which recently issued a statement encouraging the manufacturers of immunoglobulin only to supply products which are based on plasma which has been tested for hepatitis C virus infection.

Recent articles in the French press have cast doubt on the safety of certain immunoglobulin products. One in particular, in the publication L'Express, has referred to "a new blood products scandal," after the discovery that hepatitis C antibodies were present in a range of products. Clearly, this observation alone is not necessarily proof that the virus itself is present, and the French transfusion safety committee (CST) was meeting last week to review the subject.