- KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters)
- Federal investigators probing allegations that a pharmacist diluted chemotherapy
drugs pored over records and talked to worried cancer patients and doctors
on Thursday as they sought to determine the scope of the case.
-
- As of Thursday morning, more than 400 people had phoned
a hotline set up by the FBI to gather information on the case. The callers
included relatives of cancer patients who died after receiving chemotherapy
treatments provided by 48-year-old Kansas City pharmacist, Robert Courtney.
-
- "Whether people have died because of this we don't
know that, but we have had phone calls from spouses and children of patients
who were receiving the chemotherapy treatments and have passed away,"
FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said.
-
- If evidence links the diluted drugs and cancer deaths,
she said, manslaughter charges could be filed.
-
- At the center of the investigation is Courtney, a father
of five and a well-respected pharmacist who specialized in preparing cancer
treatments for area oncology physicians and their patients at the Research
Medical Tower Pharmacy.
-
- Courtney was being held in jail without bail on Thursday
after surrendering to federal authorities Wednesday on one felony count
of misbranding and adulteration of a drug. Courtney's attorney has said
his client intends to plead not guilty to the charges.
-
- Authorities said they are not sure what motivated Courtney
to allegedly dilute the drugs, but by using only a fraction of the drugs
prescribed when preparing the chemotherapy IV bags, Courtney could save
his pharmacy hundreds of dollars in drug costs for each prescription while
billing as though the full strength of the drug had been used.
-
- The filing of charges against Courtney stirred fear among
many patients in the Kansas City area. In the meantime, investigators worked
to locate cancer patients who may have received the altered drugs and encourage
them to seek medical treatment.
-
- "One of the main objectives for us is to find these
potential victims and let them know so they can go seek medical advice,"
said Patton. "It is a high priority."
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- The drugs involved, Taxol and Gemzar, are used to treat
lung cancer, ovarian, breast, pancreatic cancers and Kaposi's sarcoma,
which is associated with AIDS.
-
- Area oncology professionals said diluting the dosage
of these drugs could have devastating effects on patients, who rely on
the drugs to kill cancerous cells.
-
- "The dosage for the patient is very carefully calculated,"
said Deborah Salkov, an oncology-certified registered nurse at the University
of Kansas Medical Center's Cancer Center. "If they don't receive the
right amount, they aren't being treated adequately."
-
- Authorities said the scheme was uncovered when a sales
representative for Eli Lilly and Co., the sole manufacturer of the drug
Gemzar, noted that records showed Courtney's pharmacy had only purchased
approximately one-third of the amount of Gemzar it had supposedly provided
and billed to an area doctor's office for its cancer patients.
-
- After authorities were notified, several prescriptions
filled by Courtney's pharmacy were sent for laboratory testing at the request
of investigators. Authorities said test results showed that drugs that
should have been delivered at a strength of 100 percent were delivered
at a strength of anywhere from 1 percent to 39 percent.
-
- "If this turns out to be true, certainly it is just
abhorrent," said Missouri Board of Pharmacy executive director Kevin
Kinkade. "Anytime a pharmacist knowingly adulterates a drug, it is
a serious matter. We're there to help the public, not to harm them."
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