Legal Intervention in Ohio by Fresenius Kabi and Sandoz

Amicus brief submitted by Fresenius Kabi and Sandoz - July 2017

In July 2017, drugmakers Fresenius Kabi USA and Sandoz Inc. submitted a brief to the Ohio Supreme Court, challenging use of state legislation to conceal the identities of the manufacturers of the drugs Ohio had obtained for use in upcoming lethal injections.

In their brief, the companies state they are “among over two dozen U.S. and international pharmaceutical companies which have instituted supply chain controls to prevent the sale of their medicines for use in capital punishment, and in doing so, help ensure the availability of these drugs for patient care.”

The companies noted that they had “significant commercial and other interests in ensuring the proper implementation of the controls. The use of the medicines in lethal injections carries with it serious reputational, fiscal, and legal risks for the manufacturers of these medicines.”

According to their brief, Sandoz and Fresenius maintain “a keen and important interest in knowing whether any department of corrections have obtained their drugs despite and in contravention of their distribution controls and contracts”. For this reason, the release of public records on the state’s execution drug supplies “would allow the manufacturers to enforce their contractual rights and take appropriate steps to prevent future diversion of their medicines.”

Read more from the companies' brief