Alvogen, Inc., a multi-national pharmaceutical company, filed a lawsuit today against the State of Nevada and the Nevada Department of Corrections. The lawsuit alleges that Nevada illegitimately obtained Alvogen drugs and plans to use them in an execution. Details in thread:
Alvogen filed suit in Clark County, Nevada, this morning. The lawsuit centers around midazolam - a controversial sedative that has been involved in many botched executions. Alvogen manufactures midazolam for therapeutic uses, NOT for killing people.
Alvogen warned Nevada that it could not buy drugs for executions through legitimate channels. Alvogen demanded that Nevada return any drugs it had already purchased in exchange for a full refund. After the warning, Nevada bought the drugs anyway while hiding the intended use.
To quote Alvogen's complaint: "Defendants [Nevada DOC] purchased a quantity of Plaintiffs' [Alvogen's] medicine by subterfuge with the undisclosed and improper intent to use it for the upcoming execution in complete disregard of Plaintiffs' [Alvogen's] rights."
The lawsuit notes that Alvogen focuses on "developing, manufacturing, and selling life-saving and life-enhancing products around the world." One of these products is midazolam, an injectable medication approved by the FDA for sedative use before surgery.
Somewhere along the line, states got the idea to use midazolam as the first drug in a killing concoction to execute prisoners. Remember, midazolam is a sedative, not an anesthetic. It DOES NOT render a person unconscious or insensate. It's like Valium or Xanax, nothing stronger.
Importantly, the lawsuit goes into detail about several botched executions that involved midazolam. Clayton Lockett, Joseph Wood, and Ronald Smith are all mentioned. These botched executions are the reason Alvogen blocked sales of midazolam - to prevent its use in executions.
Back in 2016, part of Nevada's stockpile of killing drugs expired. They asked 247 different suppliers to sell them more drugs to add to the stockpile of death. You read that right - 247! All 247 suppliers declined.
Alvogen began selling midazolam in August 2017. They've always had a policy against selling the drug for use in executions. Alvogen even added a message about its policy against selling execution drugs to its midazolam webpage. 
Alvogen sent this letter to the director of the Nevada Department of Corrections on April 20, 2018. An identical letter was sent to the warden at the prison where Nevada's death row is located.
"To ensure our products are not purchased for use in lethal injection executions, Alvogen does not accept orders from any state departments of corrections . . . These controls reflect our company's policy of ensuring the appropriate use of our medicines."
The letter continues: "If your state has purchased products manufactured by Alvogen for use in capital punishment procedures - either directly or indirectly - we ask that you immediately return our products in exchange for a full refund."
So how did Nevada get a hold of Alvogen-manufactured midazolam with all of these rules and supply controls in place? Well, Alvogen distributes its products through wholesalers. One of those wholesalers is Cardinal Health (a company that has a troubling history with executions).
Alvogen and Cardinal Health negotiated and entered into a contract in May 2018 that honored Alvogen's commitment to preventing the use of its products in executions. In other words, Cardinal Health was barred from selling Alvogen drugs for use in a lethal injection.
The Nevada Department of Corrections contacted Cardinal Health about purchasing some midazolam in May 2018, with the order to be fulfilled in June 2018 (after the agreement between Alvogen and Cardinal Health took effect). So what happened?
Cardinal Health didn't know about the letter (stating that midazolam cannot be legitimately purchased for use in executions) that Alvogen sent to Nevada on April 20. Nevada had the drugs shipped to the central state pharmacy rather than the death chamber to hide the intended use.
To further bolster the false idea that the drugs would be used for legitimate purposes, the Nevada Department of Corrections purchased the midazolam on the authority of the Nevada Chief Medical Officer's medical license.
Let's summarize. Alvogen tells Nevada: "Don't attempt to buy our drugs for executions!" Nevada gets the warning and ignores it. Nevada goes to a third party and buys the drugs under the guise of some legitimate medical use. Alvogen finds out and sues to get the drugs back.
Alvogen's lawsuit includes eight separate counts against the State of Nevada, the Nevada Department of Corrections, the Nevada Chief Medical Officer, and the anonymous doctor who will participate in the execution.
Count I - Acquisition of a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge.
Count II - Acquisition by a Physician of a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge.
Count III - Unlawful Obtainment of a Controlled Substance.
Count II - Acquisition by a Physician of a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge.
Count III - Unlawful Obtainment of a Controlled Substance.
Count IV - Administration of a Controlled Substance for an Illegitimate Purpose.
Count V - Unlawful Furnishing of a Controlled Substance.
Count VI - Replevin (legalese for "give us back our stuff!").
Count VII - Conversion ("that's not yours!").
Count VIII - False Pretenses.
Count V - Unlawful Furnishing of a Controlled Substance.
Count VI - Replevin (legalese for "give us back our stuff!").
Count VII - Conversion ("that's not yours!").
Count VIII - False Pretenses.
A judge held a hearing on the lawsuit this afternoon at 3 pm PDT and another hearing will occur tomorrow morning at 9 am PDT. Alvogen's drugs are set to be used in the execution of Scott Dozier tomorrow night at 8 pm PDT.
Here's what Alvogen wants the judge to do: (1) Block the use of the drugs in tomorrow night's scheduled execution; (2) Force the Nevada DOC to return all of the drugs; and (3) Impound all of the drugs while the lawsuit is pending.
Thank you to @alvogenpr for standing up against Nevada's deception and illicit drug purchases. No human being should ever be executed, especially not with unapproved drugs obtained through false pretenses. This kind of state behavior is a direct cause of botched executions.
I will share any updates or developments about Alvogen's lawsuit and Scott Dozier's scheduled execution with you tomorrow.
