Procordia Unit Says It Takes Partial Blame in Contamination Case

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Procordia Unit Says It Takes Partial Blame in Contamination Case

Wall Street Journal (05/25/93), P. A10

A Swedish pharmaceutical company said it was partially responsible for allowing four hemophiliacs to contract HIV in 1985. The company, Kabi Pharmacia AB, part of Procordia AB, sold the product Preconativ to the hemophiliacs. All four patients were infected by blood plasma from an HIV-positive blood donor. Vice President Lars Ingelmark said Kabi was to blame, but indicated that an inquiry commission established by the company found no negligence, and no indication that profits were put before patients' safety. The national health department is expected to release a report on the matter in two weeks. In August 1985, Kabi Pharmacia ignored a report from outside virus experts that said filtering might not guarantee that HIV was eliminated from the plasma. The four HIV-positive hemophiliacs have each been awarded $48,000 in compensation under a mandatory Swedish health care insurance fund. According to a Kabi executive, the company most likely won't face additional financial liabilities, even though he said discussions about a further, voluntary financial settlement "on humanitarian grounds" are being conducted with the four patients and their lawyers. The company's inquiry commission, headed by Stockholm Court of Appeal Justice Thorsten Cars, said Kabi Pharmacia "trusted its own testing methods too much."

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