Bayer knowingly sold AIDS contaminated product?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around Bayer's actions regarding a blood product that was contaminated with HIV during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Participants explore the ethical implications of Bayer's decisions, the role of regulatory bodies, and the broader context of healthcare practices. The conversation touches on historical events, corporate responsibility, and the impact of privatized healthcare systems.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Historical
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express surprise at the resurfacing of the story and question why it is being discussed now, referencing newly available documents.
  • Others highlight that Bayer sold a treatment made from blood collected from high-risk populations and continued to sell it internationally even after suspending sales in the US.
  • A participant notes that the medicine was made using plasma from a large number of donors without screening for AIDS, leading to a high risk of contamination.
  • Some argue that Bayer's decision to sell potentially dangerous products, especially after the risks of HIV transmission were known, reflects a serious ethical lapse.
  • There are claims that Bayer's actions were driven by profit motives, with one participant expressing anger at the perceived greed involved.
  • Discussion includes the role of the FDA and other authorities in potentially covering up or failing to address the issue adequately.
  • Some participants bring up broader concerns about the ethics of privatized healthcare and the potential for similar issues in other industries, such as lead contamination.
  • There are differing views on the implications of socialized medicine versus privatized healthcare in preventing such situations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the ethical implications of Bayer's actions or the effectiveness of regulatory bodies. Multiple competing views remain regarding the responsibility of corporations versus governments in healthcare ethics.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect assumptions about the motivations behind corporate decisions and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight, which remain unresolved. The discussion also touches on the historical context of the AIDS epidemic and the practices of blood product collection at that time.

gravenewworld
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I don't ever remember hearing anything about this story before, do you? It has been barely making headlines recently because more documents have surfaced.

http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/05/hysteria-over-aids-reduced-bayer-sales/

Why do recount all this now? A previously unknown Cutter budget estimate for 1985, which became available two weeks ago, offered a cold calculation. The assumption was that AIDS wouldn’t become a “major issue” among Asian hemophiliacs that year, but if there was “hysteria over AIDS,” the fallout could reduce sales of its older med by $400,000 and gross profits by $110,000. There are patients, and there are profits.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/03/health/main556653.shtml




And it looks like the FDA helped try to cover it up too.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpa...931A15756C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Biology news on Phys.org
in case like that I call it the "black news", because it is not clear.
 
Sorry, I posted, then deleted my post because I didn't understand the issue. Here it is (from a linked link in the OP)
But in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, it became a killer. The medicine was made using pools of plasma from 10,000 or more donors, and since there was still no screening test for the AIDS virus, it carried a high risk of passing along the disease; even a tiny number of H.I.V.-positive donors could contaminate an entire pool.
I hadn't heard of that problem.
 
What part isn't clear? Bayer sold a treatment made from blood collected from high-risk populations (hepatitis and AIDS) and continued to sell the products abroad even after they were forced to suspend sales in the US. This is not a "whoops" or "judgment call" kind of situation.
 
Russ, if you deleted a previous comment while I was composing mine, I apologize. This situation is quite well publicized and has been known for many years.
 
art of word use back and forth on a single unknown item sold by reporters could pass readers face, poor way of appeasing them
 
turbo-1 said:
What part isn't clear? Bayer sold a treatment made from blood collected from high-risk populations (hepatitis and AIDS) and continued to sell the products abroad even after they were forced to suspend sales in the US. This is not a "whoops" or "judgment call" kind of situation.

To be fair they collected clotting factors made from a general population of blood that they didn't screen for AIDS. It wasn't as if they were harvesting solely from high risk groups. But certainly any decision to sell a product that knowingly ignored the Hippocratic Oath would be a deplorable lapse.
 
LowlyPion said:
To be fair they collected clotting factors made from a general population of blood that they didn't screen for AIDS. It wasn't as if they were harvesting solely from high risk groups. But certainly any decision to sell a product that knowingly ignored the Hippocratic Oath would be a deplorable lapse.

Yes.

After it was strongly believed that HIV was being transmitted through blood products Cuttler started to worry about their inventory piling up. A Cutter rival also started making a heat treated version which was known kill HIV in the blood product. Cutter was thus unable to sell old product that was not heat treated in the US. They therefore dumped old high risk blood clotting factor to 3rd world countries in Asia and Latin America. They knew knew that they were dumping inferior product to 3rd world countries that had an extremely high chance of being infected with HIV. So did the FDA.
 
Things like this makes me rage. This is just plain old naked greed. I really hate people that are this greedy, with no regards to other lives that are being broken.
 
  • #10
bring up the authorities for the responsibility
 
  • #11
Hay guyz, we shud totally keep privatized healthcare. It just makes sense!
 
  • #12
Sorry for a quasi topic hijack, but if you really want to see how screwed up industry is, the lead industry takes the cake. Lead in trace amounts is still in paint and many countries still use leaded fuels. Not to mention the fact that the CDC stated that any level of lead in the blood is not safe. Also, the fact that lead paint is still in federal housing, which is a bigger tragedy, since a well proved correlation between school drop outs and crime has been found among people exposed to lead. Food for thought.
 
  • #13
WarPhalange said:
Hay guyz, we shud totally keep privatized healthcare. It just makes sense!
I don't get your point. You do know that Bayer is a German company, right?
 
  • #14
I think he's trying to say that governments never do anything stupid, greedy, or unethical, so such things would never happen in a socialized medical system. Not sure I agree.

In any case, the CDC apparently acted pretty quickly on this issue - it was only the export products that were affected. So socialized medicine couldn't have changed anything (unless, of course, his vision is that all pharma companies would be federalized, exist for Americans only, and there would be no more exporting of drugs).
 
  • #15
russ_watters said:
I think he's trying to say that governments never do anything stupid, greedy, or unethical, so such things would never happen in a socialized medical system. Not sure I agree.

Take away the incentive of profit and you'll greatly reduce the risk.

Besides, you should stop being so paranoid, russ. When your mom gave you some Tylenol as a kid, did you immediately have it tested for poison?

How can you trust anybody if you think the government is out to get you?
 

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