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Arkansas Execution Drug Appears To Be Made By Pfizer Company

lethal injection

An execution drug obtained by the Arkansas prison system earlier this month appears to have been made by a subsidiary of Pfizer, even though Pfizer has said it doesn't want its drugs to be used in executions.

The Associated Press on Monday obtained redacted photos of the vecuronium bromide label from the Arkansas Department of Correction. It matches labels submitted to the National Institutes of Health by Hospira, Inc., which Pfizer bought last year.

In May, Pfizer said that it had put in place sweeping controls to make sure its distributors would not sell its drugs for use in executions.

A Pfizer spokesman said she'd comment on the matter later Monday.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.