Lundbeck finally accepts it must act on execution

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Lundbeck finally accepts it must act on execution drugs


Maya Foa, of the Legal action charity Reprieve, today met with the Chief Executive of Lundbeck, the pharmaceutical company which has been supplying lethal injection drugs to US death rows.

During the meeting, Lundbeck's CEO, Ulf Wiinberg, told Ms Foa that the company has reconsidered its position - which Reprieve has said from the beginning was untenable. Mr Wiinberg now acknowledges that there are steps that the company could take to restrict the distribution of pentobarbital (also known as Nembutal) so that it is not delivered to execution chambers in the US, but still reaches legitimate users.

More;
www.reprieve.org.uk/2011_06_06_Lundbeck_meeting_Wiinberg

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The Drug Company Trying to Stop Lethal Injection

In a major victory for opponents of capital punishment, the only company still supplying a drug used in executions in the United States has said that it will take steps to stop states from using it for that purpose. And the Danish Government has issued a similar call in a letter to governors of death penalty states.

More;
www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/the-drug-company-trying-to-stop-lethal-injection/240117/

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Drug Used in Lethal Injections to Stay on U.S. Market

The Danish drugmaker H. Lundbeck A/S will continue to supply the U.S. with the barbiturate pentobarbital (Nembutal) despite its recently controversial use in capital punishment.

Pulling the drug "would be a tragedy" for patients with severe epilepsy, the company said.

"To withdraw the product would have been the easiest and financially best thing to do -- but when we asked the medical community, they said that would compromise treatment options for patients," Lundbeck CEO Ulf Wiinberg told reporters in London.

More;
www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/Ethics/27352

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Danish firm Lundbeck to stop US jails using drug for lethal injections

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/01/lundbeck-us-pentobarbital-death-row