Contaminated drugs are held responsible for 120 deaths in Pakistan

Authorities in Pakistan have temporarily closed a drug company thought to have produced contaminated drugs that killed more than 120 patients at a Lahore hospital over the past month. The crisis has raised concern over the quality of low cost drugs and the effectiveness of the drug regulatory system in Pakistan. A batch of the drug, Isotab (containing isosorbide mononitrate 20 mg), is thought to have caused the deaths at the state run Punjab Institute for Cardiology in Lahore, where it was given free of charge to patients with heart conditions. Tests …