Septrin-Bactrim: A lawyer writes
Following Brian Deer’s first stories in 1994 about risks and side-effects of Septrin – Septra – Bactrim (also marketed under the names of Septran, co-trimoxazole, Sulfatrim, Cotrim, TMP-SMX, and dozens of others), this was manufacturer Wellcome’s response
Davies Arnold Cooper Solicitors, 6-8 Bouverie Street, London EC4Y 8DD
Mr Andrew Neil,
Editor, The Sunday Times,
1 Pennington Street, London E1 9XW.
1st March 1994
BY FAX AND BY POST
Sir,
We refer to our letter of 18th February when we informed you that we were acting for Wellcome Plc in the context of the article that you were then planning to publish about our clients.
Our clients were appalled at the nature and content of the two articles that appeared in your paper on 27th February, and are considering their legal position. We note than it is intended to publish a further article on 6th March, and as a matter of fairness, we would request that you provide our clients with details of what this article is to cover, so that the have an opportunity to comment and make you aware of any inaccuracies.
Further, we must ask you to preserve all materials that have been generated and used in compilation of the various articles as they may be required to be disclosed in the course of legal proceedings.
Yours faithfully,
DAVIES ARNOLD COOPER
And to a scientist quoted in the story
Davies Arnold Cooper Solicitors, 6-8 Bouverie Street, London EC4Y 8DD
Professor Richard Lacey,
Department of Microbiology,
University of Leeds,
Leeds, LS2 9JT.
28th February 1994
Dear Professor Lacey,
Re: Wellcome – Sunday Times
You may have seen the articles in the Sunday Times of 27th February 1994 concerning Wellcome and The Wellcome Trust which included comments by yourself in relation to Wellcome’s product SEPTRIN. A copy of the article is attached.
Our client would be interested to know whether the comments attributed to you were correctly reported in the context in which they were made. We should appreciate an early response.
Yours faithfully,
DAVIES ARNOLD COOPER
>>> The Bactrim-Septra investigation continues >>>
RELATED:
Bactrim – Septra: a secret epidemic
Chronology of a newspaper campaign
The many faces of Bactrim and Septra
>>> Go to emails to this website >>>
SYMPTOM SEARCHER: This site has hundreds of visitors’ experiences. Enter Bactrim and your keywords in the SEARCH BOX on any page