USA - Drug maker opposes use of its sedative for executions

Drug maker opposes use of its sedative for executions. The sole U.S. manufacturer of a sedative Ohio plans to use to execute death row inmates as Oklahoma already does opposes the practice and asked the states to stop. Lundbeck Inc. says the use of pentobarbital in executions goes against everything the company is in business to do. "We like to develop and make available therapies that improve people's lives," Sally Benjamin Young, spokeswoman for the Denmark-based company's U.S. headquarters in Deerfield, Ill., told The Associated Press. "That's the focus of our business." Young told msnbc.com that Lundbeck sent letters to Ohio and Oklahoma, but their contents were private. State prison officials in Ohio and Oklahoma both said they hadn't seen copies of the letter Wednesday and could not comment. Johnnie Baston, scheduled for execution in March 2011, could be the first in Ohio to use pentobarbital in a lethal injection. The company issued a statement about the drug that has been available since 1930: "Lundbeck is dedicated to saving people’s lives. We do this by offering therapies that help treat people with some of the most challenging medical conditions, including epilepsy, Huntington’s disease and a range of other central nervous system disorders. Use of our products to end lives contradicts everything we’re in business to do." The statement acknowledged that Lundbeck cannot control applications of its products. Oklahoma has used the drug in combination with two others in three executions, while Ohio announced Tuesday it is switching to the sedative as the sole drug used to put inmates to death. Ohio has not yet purchased its first supplies and Oklahoma has said it obtains its supply from a private pharmacy.