Do you remember Tianle Li? She is the former Bristol-Myers Squibb chemist who was arrested three months ago for allegedly murdering her estranged husband by giving him a toxic metal known as thallium, which the drugmaker once used for making medical imaging agents. Yesterday, however, she pleaded not guilty to in response to a grand jury indictment, theAssociated Press reports.
For the record, the 40-year-old Li reportedly gave thallium to Xiaoye Wang, 39, on a regular basis, starting some time in November (back story). Thallium, for those who do not know, can do nasty things. Studies in people who ingested large amounts over a short time have reported vomiting, diarrhea, temporary hair loss, and effects on the nervous system, lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys, according to MedicineNet.
The episode has greatly embarrassed the drugmaker, since authorities say Li got the chemical at work. So far, though, it is not clear how much thallium Li took from Bristol-Myers, how she was able to do so or what kind of procedures the drugmaker was supposed to have in place to ensure such thefts do not occur. The drugmaker has studiously avoided discussing the subject since her arrest.
murder thx to lincolnlog on flickr
2 Comments
Most definitely a case for Illya Kuryakin and Dr. Donald Mallard, both played by the same actor, 45 years apart.
Short of searching employees and their bags on the way out the door every day, it would be really hard for most companies to keep something like this from happening, especially if the chemical was ordered in small enough quantities.
Ordering a couple of kilos of something might trigger a heads up, but gram quantities of a legitimate research chemical would be hard to keep track of.