As confirmed by America's Food and Drug Administration, a detailed look into some drugs manufactured by Genzyme Corp., has revealed that these contain fragments of stainless steel, non- latex rubber and some other fiber-like materials. The discovery has come as another blow to the pharmaceutical company which is already struggling with manufacturing problems and a dwindling reputation.

After a detailed test of various batches by the firm, the FDA has revealed that foreign particles were found in almost 1% of the drugs, and these could causes serious reactions in patients including "blood vessel blockages and life-threatening allergic reaction". No such incidents, however, have been reported so far.

In its defense, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has said that it has gone through its safety database very thoroughly and no problems have been discovered. "We have not had any adverse events related to the presence of foreign particles", said Bo Piela, a company spokesman.

Medicines which the FDA has found inappropriate include Cerezyme, Genzyme's best selling drug which is used in the treatment of Gaucher disease, and Fabrazyme, the firm's treatment drug for Fabry disease, and also very popular.

The FDA is now looking at more products and plans to study the affected medicines more closely.