E-DRUG: German company and the glycerine scandal in Haiti
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Hello,
My name is Uwe Scholz and I am scientific assistant for the
health sector with the Green party in Hamburg, Germany.
Recently we have been able to discover some of the rather
dangerous proceedings of the German company HELM AG in Hamburg.
Several former employees of HELM pharmaceuticals contacted us and
gave us detailed information. For example, we received explicit
copies of internal orders to change labels, to change date of
production, expiration, country of origin / producer, name of
product, potency etc. - besides we were given report about how
HELM pharm. usually handles drugs.
We took a parliamentary initiative and brought these grave
misconduct to the attention of the local attorney and the press
(in close cooperation with the Hamburger Rundschau). So far nothing
much has come of it. Therefore we would like to get additional
account of the dealings of the HELM AG with other parties, countries
or institutions. We appreciate any help.
Below is a press clipping from a Dutch newspaper on the glycerine
scandal in Haiti:
After the deaths of at least sixty children, the Haitian government
requested help from the US Food and Drug Administration to carry out
an investigation to discover the origin of the glycerine. This syrup,
in which the glycerine delivered by Vos made up an important part was
produced by the Haitian pharmaceutical company Pharval. FDA staff
visited different countries to do this, including the Netherlands
(branch of HELM:VOS in Rotterdam). From the FDA report that was
released earlier it was revealed among other things that the glycerine
was mixed with the antifreeze, diethylene glycol. In high doses, this
material is fatal for children.
The parent company, Helm AG, which has its head office in Hamburg,
is one of the largest European chemical and pharmaceutical trade
companies in the world with a global turnover of more than 6 billion
German marks. In the German media, Helm AG has already been linked
to problems involving the delivery of pharmaceuticals in Third World
countries. The firm has offices in more than 30 countries across
Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Approximately
1,300 people work for the company.
Please send me email. Thanks a lot. Regards,
Uwe Scholz
Hamburg
Germany
Email: SO5A078@sozwi.sozialwiss.uni-hamburg.de
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