Former Drug Company CEO Pleads Guilty to Pharmaceutical Tampering

Recently, the former CEO and chairman of KV Pharmaceutical Company pled guilty to tampering with pharmaceuticals, according to Businessweek. He was fined $1 million and sentenced to a month in prison.

According to officials, the company manufactured generic prescription drugs, including morphine. The CEO decided to increase production of morphine by more than double in a two year period between 2006 and 2008. In late 2008, the company shipped oversized pills to retailers in California. Those pills claimed to have the same strength as regular morphine tables, but they actually were much stronger. The tablets weighed more than twice what they were supposed to. The company conducted a study and found that oversized morphine tablets pose increased risks to consumers, such as the risk of an overdose that could lead to a coma or death.

Currently, the company no longer manufactures morphine tablets. Since 2009, the company’s ability to manufacture drugs has been regulated by courts. The CEO was removed from office in December 2008, and resigned from the company’s board late last year. A subsidiary of the drug company plead guilty this month to two felony fraud counts, and was order to pay over $27 million in fines.

Consumers assume when they purchase a drug that they will receive what they are promised. Companies that either accidentally or intentionally manufacture products that are not as advertised can be held liable for any damages that result.

Have you been injured as a result of a dangerous or defective drug? If so, contact the San Fernando Valley pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at the Mandell Law Firm at 818-886-6600.