McGuff Company News Room
McGuff Company Selected by Heyltex Corporation to Become Nation-Wide Distribution Center
September 16, 2008
The McGuff Company is proud to announce its selection by Heyltex Corporation to provide exclusive contract warehouse and distribution services for its FDA approved drug product, Radiogardase® (Prussian blue insoluble capsules).
Services provided by McGuff include; receipt, storage according to cGMP requirements, inventory control, distribution of orders received, regulatory compliance and pedigree documentation.
Radiogardase® is indicated for treatment of patients with known or suspected internal contamination with radioactive cesium and/or radioactive or non-radioactive thallium to increase their rates of elimination. McGuff is pleased to play an important role in the war on terrorism and to assist the U.S. population to be better prepared in case of a terrorist attack with a dirty bomb containing Cesium-137
Background
The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency records show a dramatic rise in the level of smuggled radiological materials.
The illicit international trafficking of radiological materials is brisk and the threat is growing. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) records show a dramatic rise in the level of radiological materials smuggling activity: In 2005, there were over 100 documented cases of attempts to smuggle radiological materials across international borders. According to the IAEA, Cesium-137 has been the second most frequently intercepted radiological material in recent years.
The Threat: Cesium-137
Cesium-137 is a readily available radioactive material: it is used in a variety of devices in the field of medicine, as well as in factories, construction sites, hospitals, and food processing plants. Cesium-137 would be particularly useful as a dirty bomb component because its most common form is an easily dispersed light powder (cesium chloride) and because it has a long half-life of 30 years.
An Essential Tool for Radiogardase® to Radiological Attacks
The threat of attacks like these has grown since September 11, 2001, requiring first responders to consider adopting procedures for responding to such possibilities. Although Radiogardase® (Prussian blue insoluble capsules) is included in the Strategic National Stockpile maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is unclear how quickly the CDC's stockpile will be made available, and in what quantities, to first responders on the ground handling the aftermath of Cesium-137 dirty bomb attacks. Terrorists seek to create physical and psychological insecurities. Stocking adequate supplies of Radiogardase® at the state and local levels can help alleviate these fears by assuring citizens that a vital treatment option will be immediately available, if and when needed.
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