SFDA denies link between US deaths and Chinese-made drug

China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said no direct linkhas been proven between deaths in the US and the blood thinner heparin,APreported. A US congressional subcommittee was told last month thatcontaminated heparin has been linked to 81 deaths and 785 severeallergic reactions. The heparin was made from ingredients imported fromChina, and was recalled by Baxter International, the maker of theanticoagulant. The SFDA said Chinese experts believed that the cause ofthe deaths could not yet be "ultimately identified" as due to heparin.The agency also said that besides the US and Germany, more than 10other countries using heparin products had not reported any cases ofadverse reactions.