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In Moscow Region workers of pharmaceutical company Soteks to appear in court for infliction of death and grave injuries by negligence

Moscow Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished investigation of a criminal case against five workers of CJSC Pharmaceutical Company FarmFirma Soteks Tatyana Petrova, Yevgeny Ampleev, Oleg Gontarev, Andrey Kibirev and Irina Volkova. They are charged with crimes under part 3 of article 109 (infliction of death to two people by negligence owing to the improper discharge by a person of his professional duties) and 11 episodes of a crime under part 2 of article 118 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (infliction of grave injury to health by negligence owing to improper discharge by a person of his professional duties).

According to investigators, Soteks manufactured at its manufacturing area solution for intravenous and intramuscular introduction “Listenon®” prescribed for conditions demanding short-term relaxation of skeleton muscular system and which had contra-indications for patients with heart problems and sold only by prescription to hospitals and specialized departments. During the manufacture the workers of the company (shift master, process engineer of the department, head of the injection department, head of quality control department and director of quality) gravely violated production process of medicines leading to mixing of off-the-books, not utilized and not labeled in proper way ampules of Listenon spoiled in production with non-labeled ampules of Mildronat. All the ampules then were labeled as Mildronat medicine.

The above mentioned medicine was distributed in the period between December 2008 and February 2009 to drug stores and hospitals in Kurgansk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov regions and sold to patients in need of Mildronat and treated for exacerbation of problems in cardio-vascular system.

2 people using this medicine died, respiratory muscles of 11 patients were paralyzed, resulted in grave injuries to their health. Further distribution and use of the medicine manufactured with grave violations of production process was stopped by seizing it from circulation.

Investigators have collected sufficient evidence, the case is therefore sent to the court to be tried on the merits.