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Fatal drug's manufacturer cooperates

 

10-May-2007: The head of a Texas pharmacy accused of making an error that killed three Northwest residents released a public statement Wednesday saying company "policies and procedures were apparently not followed," resulting in a too strong batch of drugs.

Gary Osborn said Dallas-based ApotheCure is cooperating with state and federal investigations and making its own check to figure out what went wrong.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the patients who have died in the Portland area and Yakima County," Osborn wrote in a statement. "The entire ApotheCure family is deeply saddened by your loss and we are committed to devoting the necessary resources to helping find out what happened and how it happened."

Oregon officials think two people from the Portland area and one from Yakima County, Wash., were killed by an infusion of the drug colchicine that was 10 times stronger than it should have been. Colchicine is normally taken as pills for gout, but some doctors use infusions for pain -- including Portland Dr. Geoffrey Wiss, who ordered this batch of colchicine and is also being investigated by Oregon and Washington regulators. Wiss' lawyer, Jane Clark, said he "is extremely shocked and saddened by these deaths."

Osborn said ApotheCure has stopped making colchicine and destroyed unused vials.

ApotheCure is not licensed with Oregon's pharmacy board, as required for any pharmacy sending drugs into the state. It is licensed in Texas, and has no disciplinary orders against it.

Texas Board of Pharmacy records show ApotheCure pharmacists have been warned three times in six years for allegedly dispensing steroids to bodybuilders and for giving a pregnant woman testosterone.

The husband of Margrit Long, a Portland woman who died of colchicine poisoning, said he wants to see more federal regulation of the drug.

"No one did this on purpose. Yes, there's liability, and yes, this is a toxic drug that should be regulated," said Jack Motch. But "the colchicine, I think, has medicinal properties that are valuable to the world."

Source: OregonLive.com