A pharmaceutical company that ended its contract with Arkansas in 2013 after its drugs were purchased for lethal injections is investigating whether the state plans to use one of its sedatives in upcoming executions.
An executive at London-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals says the company hasn't heard from the Arkansas Department of Correction after asking if it has midazolam made by a Hikma subsidiary. Hikma opposes its drugs being used in executions.
Department spokeswoman Cathy Frye says a new law allowing the state to withhold information about its drug supplier bars her from telling Hikma - or anyone else - whether it has the drug.
The Associated Press approached Hikma and two other drug manufacturers after redacted photographs obtained through an open-records request appeared to show their drugs in Arkansas' execution supply.