Capital punishment and Big Pharma's ethics

Is it acceptable for companies that manufacture drugs used in US executions to know that fact yet deny moral responsibility?

On Thursday, the BBC's Today programme ran a story on Reprieve's investigation into the British execution drug export bonanza. While, originally, it seemed that only sodium thiopental was being sourced in the UK, we recently learned that all 3 chemicals used in lethal injection have been exported by this country – adding pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride to the deadly mix.

The emails between corrections officials would be amusing if they were not so Orwellian. When Arizona helped California locate lethal chemicals sufficient to kill 85 people in late September, the California bureaucrat expostulated his gratitude: "You're a life saver!" When Arizona wanted to import its execution drugs from the UK to kill Jeffrey Landrigan on 26 October, the federal authorities agreed to expedite the process, since it was "for the purpose of executions and not for use by the general public".

This places in stark relief the ethical duties of the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and sell these products. Thus far, sad to say, the response has been underwhelming.

It is uncontested that the sodium thiopental that was used to execute Landrigan originated from Archimedes Pharma. But the company says it is not their responsibility, as they did not directly export the drug to the US – another party must have bought it from them, and sold it on. Archimedes says "does not have information on specific end purchasers or users of its products". Too bad that other people might die, then.

Or take Hospira. Until recently, the Illinois-based firm, which has a UK subsidiary, was, apparently knowingly, making a profit from selling sodium thiopental for executions, while professing itself "not comfortable" with such use. When the US plant had problems, they came up with a new wheeze: to make the drug in Italy and export it back to the executioners. We confronted their Italian enterprise, just outside Milan, but they had a PR line ready: it was not their responsibility, they said. One would hardly blame a hardware shop if it sold a knife that was later used for murder.

As it is possible – though yet unproven – that Hospira UK may have been the manufacturer of the pancuronium bromide recently exported for use in executions, I asked the company urgently to check the matter. As yet, despite the fact that lives are at stake, I have received no reply.

Lest Big Pharma PR has not yet got the message, let me refine the comparison to make it appropriate: someone comes to their hardware store wanting to buy a knife, and they have been forewarned (by Reprieve) that it is going to be used to attack someone on the pavement outside. Do they really have no obligation to do everything possible to help prevent the impending murder?

It is not sufficient that a business should avoid being irredeemably evil. Rather, it should be ethical. By way of example, I must mention the pharmaceutical firm Hameln. It is possible – though, in my view, unlikely – that the potassium chloride being used to execute prisoners in the US originated from Hameln in the UK. When I brought this to the company's attention, not five minutes passed before the managing director called me at home, and was doing everything he legitimately could to preserve the lives of the unfortunate prisoners who might be executed with British drugs.

Perhaps that is why Hameln's motto is "injecting solutions into healthcare" – rather than into condemned prisoners. Other Big Pharma companies ought to consider whether they are worthy of their advertising slogans.

Source: The Guardian, Jan. 7, 2011

British businessman supplied US prison with lethal injection drugs

Lethal injection drugs used to carry out executions in the US have been supplied by a British businessman

Mehdi Alavi runs Dream Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, from the back of the Elgone Driving Academy in Acton, West London.

Documents released under Freedom of Information show that in September he supplied the state prison in Arizona with £4,253 worth of drugs.

The chemicals were shipped by FedEx, the courier company, and are believed to have been used to execute Jeffrey Landrigan, a 50-year-old murderer, in October.

Mr Alavi, 50, yesterday insisted he had done nothing wrong. He said: "I've done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical. This is a witch hunt, I am being made a scapegoat."

Mr Alavi lives in a £750,000 house in Hampton, West London. His company made a turnover of more than £800,000 last year.

Source: The Telegraph, Jan. 7, 2011