Source:
https://scmp.com/business/companies/article/1291598/shuanghuis-smithfield-bid-sparks-us-worries-over-supply-drug
Business/ Companies

Shuanghui's Smithfield bid sparks US worries over supply of drug heparin

Smithfield is a major supplier of crude heparin. Photo: AP

US lawmakers are concerned a Chinese company's planned US$4.7 billion acquisition of pork producer Smithfield Foods could affect the safety and availability of heparin, a blood-thinner widely used in heart surgery and kidney dialysis that is derived from pig intestines.

Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote to Smithfield on Wednesday asking the company to turn over information on its production of crude heparin. As well as being the world's largest pork producer, with more than 46,000 employees in 25 US states and four countries, Smithfield is also a major supplier of crude heparin.