Seaweed Extract Offers Therapy Hope
The Sunday Age
Sunday June 15, 2008
A TASMANIAN company believes it has struck gold on the seabed by using seaweed to produce an alternative to a controversial drug that has led to dozens of deaths.
The use of heparin - a blood thinner used mainly in the treatment of thrombosis - has been under scrutiny since early this year after 81 deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions caused by contaminated batches of the drug shipped to the US from China. But the Tasmanian company, Marinova, claims it has developed techniques for extracting derivatives from seaweed, creating a safe alternative.Marinova chief executive Nick Falk says the new organic alternative is just as effective as the existing product, and cheaper than synthetic compounds also on the market.The contaminated drug - raw bovine heparin extracted from cows - was traced to a Chinese factory, and sparked claims the US regulatory authority, the Food and Drug Administration, had not done its job properly. China denies any responsibility and blames US pharmaceutical company Baxter Inc, which produced the drug using the Chinese heparin. Australian health authorities have recalled five batches of a drug containing heparin as a precaution. Mr Falk says the incidents in the US highlight the risks involved in using a "pay-less alternative", such as that supplied by the Chinese company. The major issue with bovine heparin, says Mr Falk, is that its sourcing is not clear and is difficult to trace. The seaweed alternative, he says, is clearly traceable and is more sustainable and eco-friendly. It is made from organically harvested seaweed, certified by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, from local and imported sources.Plans for more trials are expected to be announced at global biotech conference BIO 2008 in California this week.
© 2008 The Sunday Age