17/07/2002 
MPA – Criminal wheelings and dealings, a comment by Detlef Breuer
The
The Irish branch of the US group Wyeth is said to be the producer of the syrup (called
It is reported that Wyeth ordered the Cara company to clear away the syrup. Cara is said to have transported the syrup to the Belgian
For the average person it is incomprehensible that a multinational group of pharmaceutical companies, occupying umpteen thousand employees and using a cleverly thought-out system of quality assurance and documentation, should really make such
The events about the
Biolandcompany, having its seat at Arendonk / Belgium, is held by two Dutch brothers: Hubertus and Henricus van Vucht. Meanwhile,
Biolandas a company has gone bankrupt. Mr Henricus van Vucht was put into prison at the beginning of July 2002, and he has kept silent ever since. Mr Hubertus van Vucht has vanished and remains untraceable. The investigations made by the public prosecutors seem to go on very slowly. The reason for this is that the accounting documents are very scanty only. By searching the bank statements, understanding of the business connections and trade relations shall be achieved.
Biolandworked as feedstuff supplier and as sanitation company for the pharmaceutical industry. And what is so scandalous about it: The company had never been registered or admitted for both fields of action, and the Belgian authorities seem to never have noticed that for many years.
The Irish branch of the US group Wyeth is said to be the producer of the syrup (called
sugar water) which is soiled with hormones. The pharmaceutical enterprise - with businesses in pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biotechnology - has representatives in 140 countries world-wide and keeps more than 52,000 employees occupied.
It is reported that Wyeth ordered the Cara company to clear away the syrup. Cara is said to have transported the syrup to the Belgian
Biolandcompany. Other reports say that Wyeth made a serious mistake in the declaration. A mark was set that the syrup was
not soiled with hormones. Should it be that some laws and instructions had been flouted at that time already? However, it’s debatable whether the mark had been set intentionally or by mistake. Would aspects of insurance and legal liability now have a determining influence on the way of arguing? It looks quite like it.
Biolanddoes not seem to be the only company responsible in this matter, even if they served as the only
scapegoatin the beginning.
For the average person it is incomprehensible that a multinational group of pharmaceutical companies, occupying umpteen thousand employees and using a cleverly thought-out system of quality assurance and documentation, should really make such
mistakes. Should this be the beginning only of quite a number of such incidents? This matter must be elucidated in the greatest detail!
The events about the
hormone scandalare creating a great stir. But one gets closer to the centre of it in the meantime. This is no scandal in pig fattening, but a scandal in the pharmaceutical industry. Both farmers and consumers are once again the ones to suffer from the unscrupulous conduct of profiteers.
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