The taintedblood Timeline  -  what really happened...

Dr. Edward Shanbrom, a former Baxter scientist, receives a patent for a solvent detergent treatment process for viral inactivation of factor concentrate. He approaches all 4 US pharmaceuticals about implementing the solvent detergent method, however all 4 companies refuse to implement the method.

Dr. Shanbrom describes the implementation of this process to be "as easy as washing your hands."

Early tests are being conducted in the use of detergents to purify factor VIII. The minutes of a meeting of the SNBTS Factor VIII Study Group suggest that not only is the use of detergents possible in late 1982, but also that the process is a valid proposition: "Practically all of the detergents tested so far had proved quite successful, with a good survival rate of FVIII:C."

Note: Despite Dr. Edward Shanbrom patenting and proposing the process to US industry in 1980, solvent detergents are not widely taken up by the leading pharmaceutical companies until 1987.

The New York Blood Center ("NYBC") obtains a license from the FDA to implement the solvent detergent process for manufacture of Factor VIII.

CUTTER, ALPHA and BAXTER are now using the solvent detergent process to virally inactivate their Factor VIII blood products.

Note: 7 years earlier, all four US plasma companies were approached by Dr. Edward Shanbrom, who presented his solvent detergent treatment process. Sadly, all 4 companies declined his process and as a result countless hemophiliacs' lives were lost.

Armour is still not using the solvent detergent process to virally inactivate their Factor VIII blood products.

In 1988, Hyland, was the first commercial manufacturer of Factor VIII in the USA to make concentrate using the solvent detergent process which is also purified by monoclonal antibody technology.