COW'S BLOOD SUBSITUTE IN BIG TROUBLE AGAIN

by hawkaw 11 Replies latest jw friends

hawkaw

As I have been warning over and over the HemoPure cow's (bovine) blood product made by the company Biopure is running into major trouble that seems to be with held by company executives. Now, their financing is about to go down the tubes.
Think about this folks. This HemoPure product was a test product in the USA, Canada and Europe (note S. Africa had approved it but I think we are finding out, sadly, they jumped the gun). The Watchtower approved the use of this cow's blood product (hemoglobin based). Now we are finding out they have allowed JWs to increase their chances of getting hurt instead of using safer human blood products.
Below please find a January 14 and a January 15, 2002 article on this god damn mess by "thestreet.com" folks:
. http://www.thestreet.com/tech/adamfeuerstein/10006606.html
Biopure Opens Door for Executives to Sell Stock
By Adam Feuerstein
Staff Reporter
01/14/2002 07:58 AM EST
Biopure (BPUR:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) executives and other insiders will now be allowed to sell their company's shares after the biotech firm amended its corporate by-laws Friday.
The new insider-selling program is being instituted just one month after Biopure disclosed a significant delay in its efforts to develop a human blood substitute.
Pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission rules, Biopure says it will now permit officers, directors and other company insiders to enter into approved, predetermined trading plans that will allow them to unload company stock without running afoul of insider-trading liabilities.
The first Biopure executive to step up to the trading plate is Chairman and CEO Carl Rausch, who plans to sell 10,000 shares of Biopure stock every month for the next year. Rausch, who owns 2.2 million shares in the company, will begin selling his shares on Jan. 15. Biopure said other undisclosed officers are also preparing to unload their stock.
In an unrelated transaction, Marilyn Jacobs, wife of former senior vice president of medical affairs Edward Jacobs, filed papers with the SEC on Dec. 28, seeking to sell 10,000 shares of Biopure stock. Jacobs resigned from Biopure on Nov. 27.
Raising Eyebrows
It's not uncommon for executives to regularly sell portions of the stock in the companies they manage, but the timing of such insider selling is closely watched as a barometer of possible corporate hijinks. Enron executives are now the focus of at least eight criminal and regulatory investigations, in part, because they sold hundreds of millions of dollars in stock before the energy trader plunged into bankruptcy.
Even more recently, questions are being raised about ImClone Systems' (IMCL:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) COO Harlan Waksal, who sold $50 million in company stock three weeks before the Food and Drug Administration rejected the company's approval application for the cancer drug Erbitux. The FDA rejection has sent ImClone shares into a tailspin.
Biopure said Friday that it is allowing company executives to sell stock at regular intervals to facilitate their financial planning and investment diversification. But questions will be raised about the timing of the new plan. In early December, Biopure admitted that it was being forced to delay the filing of an approval application for Hemopure, the company's experimental blood substitute, by at least six months.
The Hemopure Mess
TheStreet.com has reported that Biopure is facing many more serious problems with Hemopure than just a six-month filing delay -- including serious safety concerns with the product and problems with the data collection and analysis of Hemopure's pivotal clinical trial that may force the company to conduct additional testing.
Biopure's CEO Rausch has long insisted that Hemopure is safe and effective, and that the blood substitute, once approved in the U.S., will reap the benefits of a $16 billion market.
But if Hemopure is destined for such success, then why are Biopure executives so eager to sell stock now? Shares of Biopure have fallen almost 40% since mid-October, and now trade for under $14 per share. By comparison, the American Stock Exchange Biotech Index is up 10% during the same time period.
Biopure executives could not be reached for comment. CEO Rausch made a corporate presentation at last week's J.P. Morgan H&Q health care conference but didn't mention the new insider-selling program.
The selloff in Biopure's stock has accelerated since the end of December because the company, facing a cash shortage, has been forced to raise funds through a $75 million equity line of credit from French bank Societe Generale.
Beginning Dec. 24, the company has raised a total of $6.8 million by selling approximately 490,000 shares of its common stock in three separate installments, or equity draw-downs. The French bank gets the stock at a discount, then flips it at market prices for a quick profit. And the bank can bolster its gains by using various short-selling strategies that put even more downward pressure on the stock, according to company documents filed with the SEC.
But Biopure's ability to raise cash this way could be coming to an end. Societe Generale has the right to terminate the equity line of credit if Biopure's stock price falls below $13 per share. Shares of Biopure closed Friday at $13.65 per share, and have fallen as low as $13.32 per share in recent days. Biopure and the French bank could mutually agree to lower the floor price on the financing deal, which would allow the company to continue to raise money, according to terms of the deal.
Biopure could test Societe Generale's willingness to renegotiate the deal this week. On Friday, the company said it was requesting another draw-down, this time seeking to raise $2.2 million by selling 169,230 shares starting Jan. 11 and ending Jan. 17.

. http://www.thestreet.com/tech/adamfeuerstein/10006774.html
Biopure Hastily Offers More Details on Insider Selling Plan
By Adam Feuerstein
Staff Reporter
01/15/2002 12:42 PM EST
After investor anger led to a swift 10% drop in its stock price, biotech Biopure (BPUR:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) tried Tuesday to clarify its newly adopted plan allowing company insiders to sell their stock.
On Jan. 11, Biopure said it changed its corporate bylaws to allow company executives and other insiders to enter into approved, predetermined trading plans that would let them unload company stock without running afoul of insider trading liabilities. Chairman and CEO Carl Rausch was set to sell 10,000 shares of Biopure stock every month for the next year, beginning today.
The announcement of the insider selling plan came just one month after Biopure disclosed a significant delay in its efforts to develop a human blood substitute. Questions about the timing of the insider selling plan, combined with fallout from the Enron collapse, contributed to a sharp selloff in Biopure stock on Monday. Shares dropped $1.45, or more than 10%, to $12.20.
On Tuesday, Biopure issued a press release to provide further details about its insider selling plan. The company says none of its executives or insiders are selling stock immediately, including Rausch, who entered into the agreement to "cover personal obligations, including the repayment of loans that were taken out to purchase Biopure stock when the company was privately held."
The company also says that Rausch and one other unnamed company executive won't begin selling until the stock price reaches a minimum of $20 a share. "No other Biopure officers or directors have proposed plans for the sale of company stock," the company said in its press release.
But in the original announcement made Friday, the company said "certain corporate officers have subsequently established such plans, and other insiders may establish plans in the future." Nor did the company offer details about the $20-per-share floor price on any insider selling agreements.
Biopure also did not disclose that certain executives have already sold company stock recently. CFO Francis Murphy sold 1,000 shares of Biopure stock at $13.96 a share on Dec. 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The sale leaves Murphy, one of the company's top officers, with ownership of just 250 shares of company stock.
Also selling in December was Andrew Wright, Biopure's vice president of veterinary products. He sold 3,970 shares at a price range of $15.68 to $16.10 a share, according to an SEC filing.
As previously reported, Marilyn Jacobs, wife of former senior vice president of medical affairs Edward Jacobs, filed papers with the SEC on Dec. 28, seeking to sell 10,000 shares of Biopure stock. Jacobs resigned from Biopure on Nov. 27.
A Biopure spokesman refused to comment.
Shares of Biopure continued to head lower Tuesday, falling 32 cents to $11.88. At these levels, the company is now in violation of its equity credit line agreement with French bank Societe Generale. Biopure is trying to raise $2.2 million by selling 169,230 shares to the French bank starting Jan. 11 and ending Jan. 17. The company has already raised $6.8 million over the past month.
hawk
LDH

heh heh.
I guess Enron execs should've asked permission before dumping all of their stock, LOL. That's the first sign a company is headed to:
* http://www.fuckedcompany.com
which, if any of you work in the tech sector, you'd better add yourself to their mailing list.
Hawk, this doesn't surprise me. What surprised me in the first place was the willingness on the part of the JW HLC to accept COW'S BLOOD for one of it's members without the proper safeguards being in place.
Lisa
belbab

I hope the WT invested a lot of money in this Hemopure Stuff.
Whether it is cow's blood or human blood, are they both not prohibited under WT policy
hawkaw

Agreed Lisa and it is good to hear from you again. I just want to quote from AJWRB on this ( http://www.ajwrb.org/basics/hemopure.shtml )
This change in policy was particularly timely for one man. According to a September 24, 2000 article in the Sacramento Bee, a patient was recently transfused with Hemopure®, a highly purified oxygen-carrying hemoglobin solution made from fractionated bovine (cow) blood and manufactured by Biopure Corporation. To read the complete story, follow this link ( http://classic.sacbee.com/news/news/old/local08_20000924.html).
Dorsey Griffith, a medical writer for the Bee, states that Gregory Brown, a representative from the Jehovah's Witnesses Hospital Liaison Committee, approved the use of the oxygen-carrying solution that was transfused into the patient, Jose Orduño. The article notes: “When Orduño woke up from his drug-induced slumber, about a month after the ordeal began, Angelica was there …His sister told him about the accident and how he almost died, and about the drug made from cow blood that had saved his life.”
That approval of the use of hemoglobin marks a notable change in the Watchtower Society’s policy is readily seen from its own published statements:
“Is it wrong to sustain life by administering a transfusion of blood or plasma or red cells or others of the component parts of the blood? Yes!...The prohibition includes "any blood at all." (Leviticus 3:17) - Blood, Medicine and the Law of God, 1961, pp. 13, 14
“…various tonics and tablets sold by druggists show on their labels that they contain blood fractions such as hemoglobin. So it is necessary for one to be alert… if they are to keep themselves ‘without spot from the world.’—Jas. 1:27.” The Watchtower, 9/15/61, p. 557.
“Early in man’s history, our Creator ruled that humans should not eat blood. (Genesis 9:3, 4) He stated that blood represents life, which is a gift from him. Blood removed from a creature could be used only in sacrifice, such as on the altar. Otherwise, blood from a creature was to be poured on the ground, in a sense giving it back to God ...It would be right, of course, to avoid products that listed things such as blood, blood plasma, plasma, globin (or globulin) protein, or hemoglobin (or globin) iron.” The Watchtower, 10/15/92 - Questions From Readers. (Italics added)
As recently as 1998 two officials from the Watchtower Society’s “Hospital Information Services” wrote that Jehovah's Witnesses “do not accept hemoglobin which is a major part of red blood cells.... Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept a blood substitute which uses hemoglobin taken from a human or animal source." Bailey R, Ariga T. The view of Jehovah's Witnesses on blood substitutes. Artif Cells Blood Substit Immobil Biotechnol 1998;26:571-576.
The policy on hemoglobin and other blood fractions was changed in the June 15, 2000 issue of The Watchtower. This latest change may in fact cause further confusion for many Witnesses since products like Hemopure® are derived from large quantities of stored animal blood. Numerous witnesses have questioned the logic of such an internally inconsistent dogma. Some believe that the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is simply changing its long-standing doctrine gradually to avoid legal problems anticipated with an overt change to a policy that has resulted in so many deaths over the years.
Now just in case there are some lurking JWs out there who need to know what the hell this is about here is an article in Californian newspaper.
. http://classic.sacbee.com/news/news/old/local08_20000924.html
Life spared, faith preserved: Accident victim gets experimental therapy
By Dorsey Griffith
Bee Medical Writer
(Published Sept. 24, 2000)
José Orduño lay dying. Doctors grumbled about their lack of options. And Orduño's sister, Angelica, wondered how she would tell their frail mother that he had refused lifesaving blood transfusions because of his faith.
"You walk around with your arms tied behind your back," said Mercy San Juan Hospital trauma surgeon Leon Owens. "It's torture."
But Orduño didn't die. After two weeks in the hospital, breathing through a tube in his throat, the baby-faced 34-year-old was offered a long shot: an experimental therapy made from the blood of cattle.
Before sunup July 21, Orduño was nearing the end of his 40-minute bike ride to McDonald's on Madison Avenue near Sunrise Boulevard, where he worked making salads, when he was hit by a car. He remembers nothing of the accident, but learned later that he was thrown about 90 feet, and that the driver of the car that hit him fled.
Orduño arrived at Mercy San Juan with a gash to the back of his head, bruised lungs and several broken ribs, including the bone under the collar, which is not easy to break.
"It's like a wooden doughnut," said Owens. "When it's broken, a little light goes on: This guy has really had a beating."
Orduño was losing blood, which was filling his chest cavity. That led to dangerously low levels of hemoglobin, the protein molecule that carries oxygen in the red blood cells to the heart, brain, kidneys and other vital organs. Without oxygen, tissue dies.
Owens ordered a blood transfusion.
After Orduño had received two units of a donor's blood, he awoke to tell the doctors and nurses surrounding him that he didn't want any more.
The transfusion was halted.
Although Orduño never officially has been baptized a Jehovah's Witness, he would explain later that he subscribes to the denomination's doctrine and is well-versed in its practices. "I know in the text where it mentions that we should not receive blood by mouth or by transfusion," he said.
His belief is based on several Biblical passages, including Leviticus 17:12-14: "No soul of you shall eat blood ... whosoever eateth it shall be cut off."
The faith's prohibition against transfusions has inspired debates within the medical and religious communities: Should a person's freedom to worship overrule a doctor's oath to do everything possible to save that person's life?
Even among Jehovah's Witnesses, the blood policy is controversial. A group calling itself the Associated Jehovah's Witnesses for Reform on Blood maintains a Web site dedicated to analyzing the no-blood doctrine.
Owens said he had to respect Orduño's wishes. But he did so grudgingly.
"You have a lot of margin of error with blood," he said. "With this guy, every drop you lose is lost."
A local representative from the Jehovah's Witnesses Hospital Liaison Committee was summoned. Owens told him that Orduño would die without more blood. Already, the patient's hemoglobin levels measured just 3 grams per 100 ccs of blood; a normal level is 12 grams. Owens had never seen anyone live with less than 2 grams.
"We discussed his vital signs, his fluid output, his hemoglobin, his respiration," said Gregory Brown, the representative. Brown suggested ways to manage the patient without more blood, but would not yield on the transfusion.
Owens couldn't perform surgery to stanch the bleeding without further blood loss. So he tried other innovative procedures.
He gave Orduño nitric oxide for more than a week, using the treatment as part of a clinical trial. Researchers have found that the gas helps the blood vessels pull oxygen across membranes that have bruised and swelled, as had happened in Orduño's case.
At the same time, Owens tried to stimulate Orduño's bone marrow to generate more hemoglobin using a drug called Epogen. But Epogen takes weeks to work, time that Orduño likely didn't have.
Meanwhile, Orduño's sister Angelica had arrived from her home in Guanajuato, Mexico. Doctors told her of his decision and, not being a Jehovah's Witness, it deeply disturbed her.
She spent days at his bedside. When the nurses kicked her out at 4:30 a.m., she slept in a lobby chair. She couldn't talk to José, who was heavily medicated and hooked up to a ventilator.
"I was scared," she said, turning to shield her eyes as they filled with tears. "I couldn't do anything."
Angelica stayed in touch with their sisters and brothers back home, but kept the news from their ailing mother, who, she said, wouldn't be able to cope if she knew of her son's impending death.
Orduño was barely hanging on, already showing signs of heart failure and vulnerability to deadly infection. "Every day we thought, this is the day," said Robynn Gough-Smith, the trauma program manager.
About two weeks into the ordeal, Dr. Roy Semlacher, a plastic surgeon, overheard another doctor discussing the case. "I know exactly what to use," he told them.
Semlacher knew of a Cambridge, Mass., company called Biopure that had developed an alternative therapy for situations in which patients can't -- or won't -- accept blood transfusions.
A case in which the drug had been used had been published in the June 1 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The article described how the therapy had saved the life of a young woman whose own immune system was destroying her red blood cells.
Semlacher called Biopure. Dr. Edward Jacobs, senior vice president of medical affairs for the company, said Orduño sounded like a good candidate for their drug Hemopure. Jacobs quickly got approval from the Food and Drug Administration to provide the drug on a compassionate-use basis.
The hospital called Brown to discuss whether Hemopure would be an acceptable alternative to whole blood. Brown agreed that the substance did not constitute a major blood component, as would plasma or red blood cells, which would be prohibited.
"Medicine has found ways of breaking down the components into many tiny pieces," he said. "We are saying, that becomes a matter of conscience because the Bible doesn't really address that."
Hemopure is made from cattle red blood cells that have been ultra-purified, processed and mixed with a salt solution. It can be given to anyone, regardless of blood type, said Jacobs. The drug is being tested in several clinical trials, and the company hopes to apply for permission to market it next year.
Packets of Hemopure arrived within two days of Semlacher's call. After getting the drug intravenously over three or four days, Orduño's hemoglobin level shot up, reviving his body's ability to produce new oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
When Orduño woke up from his drug-induced slumber, about a month after the ordeal began, Angelica was there. Seeing her face, he didn't know if he was in Mexico or the United States, where he has lived since 1997.
His sister told him about the accident and how he almost died, and about the drug made from cow blood that had saved his life.
He told his sister he didn't remember refusing the transfusion and never knew his life was in danger. But he said he agreed with his own dazed decision.
The doctors and nurses, the drug maker, the Jehovah's Witnesses -- everyone involved -- were elated at Orduño's recovery.
Orduño left the hospital on Sept. 10. His breathing is still labored and his right arm difficult to move after six weeks motionless and tethered to a hospital bed.
But he is eager to work again in his adopted homeland. Angelica, meanwhile, plans to return home to Mexico where she can deliver the good news to their mother.
hawk
LDH

Wouldn't old Jose be pleased to know he could've stored his blood for use later? With the new blood cards due out, this wouldn't have even been an issue!
See, it's only ALLOGENIC blood that JWs won't take! (Wellllll, for now anyhow. Check back next month. )
* http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=19665&site=3&page=3
(see AlanF's post)
Lisa
Will Power

Wouldn't there always be the possiblity of taking on the personality of the bovine (cow) ?
zev

i enjoy reading your post hawk, and as i sat here reading it i couldn't help think, of what would be said in the emergency room or hospital, when a blood tranfusion would be determined necessary.
it might go something like this:
dear mr. jones,
during your operation, if we find that you need a transfusion, would you prefer human blood or cows blood?
now, there are certain side effects, such as after the operation, you may feel the desire to moo, and chew your cud. do not worry, as these effects are only temporary, however if you do accept cows blood, you may want to take the extra time off from work to avoid unnecessary embarassment.
said of course strictly tounge in cheek, hawk. i know your working hard to uncover the facts, as always. and many here as well i, appreciate your hard work.
-Zev
Learn about the Wtbts and the U.N.
** http://www.geocities.com/plowbitch69 **
AlanF

LOL, Will Power! I'm sure there's plenty of snappy comments on that but it's too early for me to think of one!
AlanF
SixofNine

LOL at Will.
"Medicine has found ways of breaking down the components into many tiny pieces," he said. "We are saying, that becomes a matter of conscience because the Bible doesn't really address that."
Interesting brother Brown. By that reasoning, isn't it accurate to say that the Bible doesn't really address the use of whole blood as medicine?
Let me answer my own question. Yes.
anewperson

Good, Hawk. To the last poster, the Bible shows God did NOT punish Saul's men for eating unBLED meat to live though they built an altar to show contrition that it had been necessary. Further Matthew 12 says David & his men ate temple bred, normally a death penalty, but were not punished because it was to stay alive. When it came down to eating blood with meat or temple bread as opposed to suiciding by starvtion, God okayed obedience to His greater commandment to hold life sacred, i.e. neighborly love. If the WTS has much stock in Biopure & airlines-related business they must be feeling dread now.

COW'S BLOOD SUBSITUTE IN BIG TROUBLE AGAIN

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