Pfizer bans its drugs from use in lethal injections
Pfizer has become the latest pharmaceutical company to ban its drugs from use in lethal injections.
The company is the last major drugs maker to ban its drugs in the use of capital punishment, meaning the open market for drugs is closed to states which still execute people.
The decision has called into question the viability of the death penalty in some American states.
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"Pfizer makes its products to enhance and save the lives of the patients we serve. Consistent with these values, Pfizer strongly objects to the use of its products as lethal injections for capital punishment," the pharma giant said.
The company will only sale to wholesalers who sign contracts that commits them not to sell them to state authorities for the use of executions.
All 25 drug companies approved by the US Food and Drug Administration have blocked their products in capital punishment, says human rights group Repreive.
"Pfizer's actions cement the pharmaceutical industry's opposition to the misuse of medicines," Maya Foa, its director, said