FDA cancels meeting about Cambridge company's blood substitute
A closed-door federal meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss possible human testing of a Cambridge company's artificial blood substitute was abruptly canceled today after a growing outcry for the meeting to be opened to the public. Biopure Corp. had hoped to launch a human trial of Hemopure, a blood substitute made from cows, which the Food and Drug Administration put on hold last summer over concerns about safety and ethics. The trial attracted controversy in part because the experimental substance would be given to trauma patients in ambulances without their consent.
Late Wednesday night, the advocacy group Public Citizen sued the FDA to open tomorrow's meeting of the FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee, which Biopure, the FDA, and the US Navy said was closed to protect trade secrets. The meeting will be re-scheduled when Biopure and the Navy agree on terms under which it can be held publicly, according to an FDA statement.
(By Stephen Heuser, Globe staff)
