January 27, 2012 (Lahore, Pakistan) — More than 100 people have died in Pakistan and hundreds more have been hospitalized after having received contaminated drugs for heart conditions. And many more people may have been exposed, authorities say. The drugs, given out free by the state, were supplied by the government-run Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore, according to multiple media reports. Patients have experienced a rapid drop in white blood cells and platelets and damage to bone marrow, with bleeding from the nose, mouth, and urinary tract reported. The owners of three pharmaceutical companies suspected of supplying the medicines have been arrested and the factories closed down. Five other companies are said to be subject to legal action. At a press conference earlier this week, Health Secretary Dr Jahanzeb Khan said five different medicines were given to cardiac patients at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. The drugs implicated included include versions of simvastat...