“Norvir Advisory”, 2000 (; backlinks; similar):
[Set of online resources published by IAPAC summarizing the Norvir disappearing-polymorph AIDS crisis. As summarized by et al 2015:]
Public relations footnote: As noted, Abbott’s initial encounter with Form II and its inability to produce Form I led to the disappearance of the drug Norvir® from the market, leaving tens of thousands of AIDS patients without medication. This led to a serious public relations problem for Abbott. To allay public concern, the company held a number of interviews and press conferences, at which senior Abbot officials appeared in order to answer questions. The transcripts were originally published on the website42 of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, but no longer appear there. Some excerpts vividly portray the situation that can arise when a disappearing polymorph is encountered:
“There was no gradual trend. Something occurred that caused the new form to occur…There was no early warning.”
“We, quite honestly, have not been able to pinpoint the precise conditions which led to the appearance of the new crystal form. We now know that the new form is, in fact, more stable than the earlier form, so nature would appear to favor it…Form II is new.”
“We did not know how to detect the new form. We did not know how to test for it. We did not know what caused it. We didn’t know how to prevent it. And we kept asking the question, why now?…We did not know the physical properties of the new form…We did not know how to clean it, and we did not know how to get rid of it.”
“…our initial activities were directed toward eliminating Form II from our environment. Then we finally accepted that we could not get rid of Form II. Then our subsequent activities were directed to figuring out how to live in a Form II world.”
“This is why all of us at Abbott have been working extremely hard throughout the summer [of 1998], often around the clock, and sometimes never going home at night. We have been here seven days a week and we will continue to do so. We have cancelled vacations and asked our families for their understanding and support. This is not an issue that we take lightly.”
“There were several sub-teams of three to 600 people per team working full time in different areas. We also called on as many resources as we could.”
“We tried everything. We conducted countless experiments. We reconditioned our facilities. We rebuilt facilities and new lines. We looked at alternative sites. We visited a number of [other] organizations around the world…to see if we could start clean in a new environment free of Form II.”
“In a matter of weeks—maybe five or six weeks, every place the product was became contaminated with Form II crystals.”
Question: “You are a large multinational company. Your scientists are obviously smart. How could this happen?”
Answer: “A company’s size and the collective IQs of their scientists have no relationship to this problem…This obviously has not happened to every drug. But it has happened to other drugs.”
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