Napp Pharmaceuticals
{{Short description|Pharmaceutical company in Cambridge, United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
File:MST Continus branded morphine 10mg (NAPP side).jpg tablet displaying the Napp logo. This tablet was manufactured by Bard Pharmaceuticals Ltd,Food and Drug Administration Philippines Human Drugs Registration Number [https://verification.fda.gov.ph/drug_productsview.php?showdetail=®istration_number=DR-XY13020 DR-XY13020] via the FDA Verification Portal. a subsidiary of Napp pharmaceuticals,{{Cite web|title=Our structure|url=https://napp.co.uk/about-us/our-structure/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=Napp|language=en|quote=Whilst our commercial focus is in the UK, we are part of the Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited group of companies, which includes Bard Pharmaceuticals Limited, a Cambridge-based production and supply chain company, which manufactures and exports medicines to over 40 countries worldwide.}} and distributed by Mundipharma.]]
File:Cambridge Science Park Napp.jpg]]
Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited is a private pharmaceutical company in Cambridge, United Kingdom that was founded in 1923{{Cite web|last=Posner|first=Gerald|author-link=Gerald Posner|date=2020-03-11|title=On Terminal Pain and the Origins of the End-of-Life Movement|url=https://lithub.com/on-terminal-pain-and-the-origins-of-the-end-of-life-movement/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=Literary Hub|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|date=2008-03-09|title=100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK: 12. Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings|language=en|work=The Sunday Times|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-100-fast-growth/company-profile/article/12-napp-pharmaceutical-holdings-rhmq8hnpfgx|access-date=2021-06-09|issn=0140-0460}} and bought by the Sackler family in 1966.{{Cite web |last=Clary |first=Sheela |date=2021-04-21 |title=Book Review: Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain |url=https://theberkshireedge.com/book-review-patrick-radden-keefes-empire-of-pain/ |access-date=2021-06-09 |website=The Berkshire Edge |language=en-US}}{{Cite news|date=2017-07-19|title=Raymond Sackler, pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist – obituary|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/07/19/raymond-sackler-pharmaceutical-entrepreneur-philanthropist/|access-date=2021-06-09|issn=0307-1235}} Headquartered together with the related Napp Research Centre in the Cambridge Science Park since the 1980s, it is a sister company of Purdue Pharma and Mundipharma, all of which are owned by the descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler.
Products
The company produces an array of pharmaceutical products, many for pain management, among them branded forms of oxycodone that have been identified as key drugs in the opioid epidemic.{{cite journal |last1=Haffajee |first1=Rebecca L. |last2=Mello |first2=Michelle M. |title=Drug Companies' Liability for the Opioid Epidemic |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |date=December 2017 |volume=377 |issue=24 |pages=2301–2305 |doi=10.1056/NEJMp1710756 |pmid=29236640 |pmc=7479783 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/richard-sackler-oxycontin-oxycodone-strength-conceal-from-doctors-sealed-testimony| author=David Armstrong| title=Sackler Embraced Plan to Conceal OxyContin's Strength From Doctors, Sealed Testimony Shows |publisher=ProPublica |date=February 21, 2019 |accessdate=February 27, 2019}}
In the early 1970s, scientists at Napp developed a delivery system whereby a pill would slowly absorbed by the body, thereby continuously delivering a drug over a 12 hour period.{{cite web| url= https://www.ft.com/content/46ff5632-b1bd-11e8-99ca-68cf89602132| author=David Crowe |title=What next for the Sacklers? A pharma dynasty under siege |publisher=Financial Times |date =September 8, 2018 |accessdate=February 24, 2019}} This Continus® delivery system was used by Purdue first to introduce MST Continus in 1987 and Oxycontin eight years later.
Explosion
At 7:50 AM on April 22, 1995, the chemical plant run by Napp Pharmaceuticals in the New Jersey town of Lodi exploded, causing four fatalities and a serious fire that injured over 40 others.{{Cite news |last=Hanley |first=Robert |date=1995-04-22 |title=Chemical Plant Explosion Kills 4 in New Jersey Town |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/22/nyregion/chemical-plant-explosion-kills-4-in-new-jersey-town.html |access-date=2023-03-11 |issn=0362-4331}} The incident caused the evacuation of over 400 residents.
=Cause=
The cause of the explosion was found to be incorrectly mixed chemicals used for gold plating consumer electronics. Sodium hydrosulfite and aluminum powder were added to a large vat,Environmental Protection Agency, & Occupational Safety and Health Administration, EPA/OSHA JOINT CHEMICAL ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT (EPA 550-R-97-002) (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2023, from https://archive.epa.gov/emergencies/docs/chem/web/pdf/napp.pdf . but a pipe blockage prevented the next step. While clearing the blockage, water was somehow introduced to the vat, reacting with the chemicals within. A reaction began, increasing the temperature and pressure inside the vat as a noxious odour was noticed by employees,{{Cite news |last=Hanley |first=Robert |date=1995-10-19 |title=OSHA, Citing Limits, Imposes $127,000 Fine in Lodi Blast |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/19/nyregion/osha-citing-limits-imposes-127000-fine-in-lodi-blast.html |access-date=2023-03-11 |issn=0362-4331}} prompting the evacuation 24 hours later.
=Injuries=
Aware of the danger posed after consulting a company chemist, managers at the plant ordered seven workers to re-enter the plant and attempt to empty the vat of some of the chemicals. This intervention came too late however as the vat exploded, instantly killing three of the seven workers, with the other three seriously injured and one dying in the hospital a week later. The blast and fire caused injuries to 40 people.
=Penalty=
A federal investigation eventually fined Napp $127,000 for numerous safety violations. Manslaughter charges were considered, but ultimately state prosecutors declined to press criminal charges.{{Cite news |last=Hanley |first=Robert |date=1996-03-15 |title=State Rules Out Manslaughter In Lodi Chemical Plant Blast |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/15/nyregion/state-rules-out-manslaughter-in-lodi-chemical-plant-blast.html |access-date=2023-03-11 |issn=0362-4331}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://napp.co.uk/about-us Official Website]
- [https://fullhousepill.com/ Online Pharmacy]
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Category:Companies based in Cambridge
Category:Pharmaceutical companies of England