A 10mg MS Continus-branded extended-release morphine tablet displaying the Napp logo. This tablet was manufactured by Bard Pharmaceuticals Ltd,[1] a subsidiary of Napp pharmaceuticals,[2] and distributed by Mundipharma.
The headquarters of Napp Pharmaceuticals, located in the Cambridge Science Park

Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited is a private pharmaceutical company in Cambridge, United Kingdom that was founded in 1923[3][4] and bought by the Sackler family in 1966.[5][6] Headquartered together with the related Napp Research Centre in the Cambridge Science Park since the 1980's,[4] 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.[7][8]

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.[9] This Continus® delivery system was used by Purdue first to introduce MST Continus in 1987 and Oxycontin eight years later.

1995 chemical plant 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.[10] The incident caused the evacuation of over 400 residents.[10]

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,[11] 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,[12] prompting the evacuation 24 hours later.

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.

A federal investigation eventually fined Napp $127,000 for numerous safety violations.[12] Manslaughter charges were considered, but ultimately state prosecutors declined to press criminal charges.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Food and Drug Administration Philippines Human Drugs Registration Number DR-XY13020 via the FDA Verification Portal.
  2. ↑ "Our structure". Napp. Retrieved 9 June 2021. 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.
  3. ↑ Posner, Gerald (11 March 2020). "On Terminal Pain and the Origins of the End-of-Life Movement". Literary Hub. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 "100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK: 12. Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings". The Sunday Times. 9 March 2008. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  5. ↑ Clary, Sheela (21 April 2021). "Book Review: Patrick Radden Keefe's Empire of Pain". The Berkshire Edge. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Raymond Sackler, pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist – obituary". The Telegraph. 19 July 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. ↑ Haffajee, Rebecca L.; Mello, Michelle M. (December 2017). "Drug Companies' Liability for the Opioid Epidemic". New England Journal of Medicine. 377 (24): 2301–2305. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1710756. PMC 7479783. PMID 29236640.
  8. ↑ David Armstrong (21 February 2019). "Sackler Embraced Plan to Conceal OxyContin's Strength From Doctors, Sealed Testimony Shows". ProPublica. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  9. ↑ David Crowe (8 September 2018). "What next for the Sacklers? A pharma dynasty under siege". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  10. 1 2 Hanley, Robert (22 April 1995). "Chemical Plant Explosion Kills 4 in New Jersey Town". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  11. ↑ 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 .
  12. 1 2 Hanley, Robert (19 October 1995). "OSHA, Citing Limits, Imposes $127,000 Fine in Lodi Blast". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  13. ↑ Hanley, Robert (15 March 1996). "State Rules Out Manslaughter In Lodi Chemical Plant Blast". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
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