Stolen HIV/AIDS ‘Goat Antiserum’ Therapy is Dangerous, FDA Warns
An experimental HIV/AIDS drug made from "goat antiserum" has been stolen from its sponsor's "storage facility," prompting the FDA to issue warnings to doctors and patients against the use of the unapproved product, Reuters Health reports. According to the FDA, the product's sponsor, Dr. Gary Davis, an independent researcher, "alleges" that a batch of the serum was stolen from a storage facility in Raleigh, N.C. It is not clear when the drug was stolen. The agency earlier had placed a "clinical hold" on the product due to "unresolved safety questions," and Davis has classified the medication as "contaminated," adding that the missing batch in particular could be "extremely dangerous." While the FDA has not received any reports of individuals attempting to sell the product, it is advising patients and health care professionals to "be aware that there is no assurance of the safety of products ... not studied or produced in compliance with FDA regulations designed to protect patients" (Reuters Health, 12/26).
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