Death Toll from Medicine for Cerebral Infarction Reached 49 in Japan

As damage from Chinese-made diet aids has spread, Japan is witnessing another medical disaster.

For the past three years, 49 people have been died from side effect of KW Ticlopidine HCI, medicine for cerebral infarction in Japan.

The Ministry of Welfare and Labor in Japan directed 20 local drug companies to immediately notice medical agencies all across the nation of safety information.

The ministry announce the urgent safety information in 1999, when the first victim of side effects of Ticlopidine was confirmed, but the death toll has continued to increase.

The medicine efficiently prevents blood from congealing in the cerebral blood vessel, but is also known to cause severe liver disorder. The ministry instructed drug companies to notice patients to take blood test once per two weeks for two months after taking the medication. But drug companies have not deliver the instruction to medical agencies, multiplying the damage. The number of victims has reached 145 including 13 to 19 deaths each year, said the ministry.

Ticlopidine was produced and sold by Taiichi Pharmaceutical in 1981 and is estimated to be used by annual average of 1 million patients. 20 drug companies that produce the medicine record 50 billion yen in sales annually.

Young-Ee Lee yes202@donga.com