by Playfuls Staff |
14th July 2006
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a rescheduled meeting in Washington to discuss a controversial blood-substitute study will be open to the public. [more]
The FDA canceled a closed-door meeting Thursday to discuss the study, proposed by the U.S. Navy, to use a product derived from cow blood on civilian trauma victims. But a last-minute lawsuit filed by the consumer group Public Citizen led the FDA to cancel the meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported.
No date was given for the rescheduled meeting.
The meeting was originally going to be closed to the public because a manufacturer of the blood substitute, Biopure Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., had not signed a waiver to participate in open meetings.
Biopure said Wednesday it didn't sign the waiver partly because it would have had to prepare longer for an open meeting than for one behind closed doors, the Journal said.
The Navy has been looking for a blood substitute that is easier to store on ships than blood itself. It proposes testing Biopure's product, known as Hemopure, in 900 civilian trauma patients around the country.
Under the proposed trial, paramedics would give patients Hemopure without their consent en route to the hospital. The lack of consent aspect of the testing angers ethicists.
© 2006 UPI
