============================================================ In Orlando, close to The Magic Of Disney, enjoy an unforgettable family vacation from only $99.00 a night, in a beautiful home with 3bed/2baths & pool http://click.topica.com/caaacYRb1ddNBb2HgmNb/Orlando ============================================================From AOL News
Missouri Pharmacist Accused of Diluting Drugs
By JOSH FREED
.c The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Aug. 15) - A wealthy pharmacist accused of diluting
chemotherapy drugs surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday as investigators
studied his records page by page to find patients who may have been given
weakened treatments for cancer.
Authorities said some intravenous drug bags contained less than 1 percent of
the dosages ordered by doctors.
Robert R. Courtney, 48, is accused of diluting prescriptions for Taxol and
Gemzar filled at his Research Medical Tower Pharmacy in Kansas City.
He was charged Tuesday with a single felony count of misbranding and
adulteration of a drug and was ordered held without bond by a judge who
called him a flight risk. The court order also said Courtney was worth more
than $10 million in stock and property.
If convicted, Courtney faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He did not speak during the hearing, but defense attorney Jean Paul Bradshaw
- a former U.S. Attorney in Missouri - said he expected his client would
plead innocent.
There was no immediate indication whether any patients have been harmed. An
FBI hot line set up to find potential victims had recorded more than 100
calls by early Wednesday.
''What we're looking at is possibly hundreds of patients. It's going to be a
very long investigation,'' FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said.
Another FBI spokesman, Jeff Lanza, added: ''Our records indicate there were
many instances over a period of time.''
Authorities refused to discuss a possible motive, but have repeatedly pointed
to the hundreds of dollars in savings per dose produced by the alleged
dilution of expensive cancer drugs. In one alleged case, dilution would have
saved the pharmacy about $780 for an order of drugs.
Taxol is a second-line therapy for advanced ovarian or breast cancer and is
used against AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma and lung cancer. Gemzar is used to
treat pancreatic cancer and some types of lung cancer.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, the dilution was discovered by a
sales representative for Eli Lilly and Co., which makes Gemzar.
The representative noticed a discrepancy between the amount of Gemzar the
pharmacy ordered and the amount it had billed an unidentified Kansas
City-area doctor.
The doctor consulted with Eli Lilly and then sent a sample of some of the
drugs to an independent laboratory, which reported back in June that the
sample contained less than one-third as much Taxol as prescribed.
Last month, the doctor gave the FBI and Food and Drug Administration
additional samples, which turned out to contain only 17 percent to 39 percent
of the amount of Gemzar that had been prescribed.
Tests on later samples showed Taxol at 28 percent of the prescribed strength,
the U.S. attorney's office said.
Federal agents seized records from Courtney's Kansas City pharmacy Monday. He
also owns a pharmacy at the Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Merriam, Kan.,
but the FBI did not say if it was under scrutiny.
Susan Winckler, a pharmacist and an attorney at the American Pharmaceutical
Association, said such cases are extremely rare.
While pharmacists have been known to steal drugs such as morphine for their
own use, Winckler didn't know of another case where a pharmacist had diluted
a potentially lifesaving treatment for cancer.
''If the allegations are true, it's tragic,'' she said.
Courtney's pharmacy license was placed on probation for one year beginning in
July 1992 for practicing after his license had expired, said Kevin Kinkade,
executive director of the Missouri State Pharmacy Board.
Referring to the latest accusations, Kinkade said: ''I don't know of any
other case that we've had like that.''
AP-NY-08-15-01 1723EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed
without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active
hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
"Never cease in the fight for peace, justice, and equality for all people. Be
perisitent in all that you do and don't allow anyone to sway you from your
conscience.".....Leonard Peltier
============================================================ Make me an offer... We've got plenty to offer with our great deals, super discounts, and cool savings. Check out TopOffers now! http://click.topica.com/caaacRbb1ddNBb2HgmNg/TopOffers ============================================================
Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html
==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
