/ Source: The Associated Press
U.S. health regulators have identified the contaminant found in Baxter International's blood thinner heparin, which may be to blame for 19 deaths.
The Food and Drug Administration says a chemical compound called oversulfated chondroitin sulfate has been found in samples of the drug tied to death and allergic reactions.
FDA staff say the chemical comes from a family similar to heparin, but that it is not approved in the U.S. or abroad as a medical treatment.
FDA drug center director Janet Woodcocks says the agency can't rule whether it was deliberately introduced into the product, but is 99 percent sure it's not a natural component.
Baxter is based in Deerfield, Ill.
