British troops get untested drug
British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are being treated with an experimental blood-clotting drug that has not been fully tested, it was reported Saturday.
As a result, it is not clear if the drug, Factor VII, is doing more harm than good, Britain's Independent newspaper reported.
Britain's defense ministry defends the drug's use, saying it authorized its use "after an extensive review of the current evidence."
The drug, marketed under the name NovoSeven, is being used to stop bleeding in trauma patients with severe wounds and bleeding within the brains of patients with severe head injuries.
The drug was originally licensed as a treatment to stop bleeding in hemophiliacs, but has increasingly been used to stop uncontrollable hemorrhages.
It has been connected to heart attacks, artery blockages in the lungs and blood clots deep in people's veins, known as deep-vein thrombosis.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
