SEC Wants More Info on Blood Substitute Fri Mar 17, 1:47 AM ET

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SEC Wants More Info on Blood Substitute Fri Mar 17, 1:47 AM ET

 

 

 

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Securities and Exchange Commission is

seeking information about the clinical development of Northfield

Laboratories Inc.'s blood substitute Polyheme. The company said

Thursday it will comply.

 

 

PolyHeme is a chemically modified human hemoglobin that requires no

cross matching and is therefore compatible with all blood types.

 

 

The substance has been experimentally used on trauma patients at

several hospitals around the country without patient consent.

 

Evanston-based Northfield said in a statement that it had received

an informal request to voluntarily provide certain information to

the staff of the SEC, adding that it intends to respond to the

request.

 

Public concerns about the safety of the blood substitute arose after

a Feb. 22 report in The Wall Street Journal.

 

The newspaper reported that Northfield has pushed to continue

testing the blood substitute without disclosing earlier results,

including the deaths of two patients among 10 who had suffered heart

attacks.