Doctor receives award in diluted drug case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The doctor who triggered inquiries into a Kansas City pharmacist accused of diluting chemotherapy drugs got an award Wednesday from the FBI.

Dr. Verda Hunter picked up the FBI's 2001 Director's Community Leadership Award for her role in initiating the criminal investigation into Robert Courtney, a pharmacist charg-ed with diluting chemotherapy medicine for cancer patients to pocket hundreds of dollars.

"As much of an honor as this is, I obviously wish the situation regarding the pharmacy would have never happened and I never would have had to receive this award," Hunter said in front of a group including family members and patients.

Hunter's remarks Wednesday marked her first public statement about the case. The FBI has asked Hunter not to discuss the case, and she refused to answer questions after the ceremony.

Courtney, 48, has pleaded innocent to 20 felony counts of tampering, adulterating and misbranding the chemotherapy drugs Gemzar and Taxol and is being held without bond. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 4.

On May 15, a sales representative from Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis company that makes the drugs, told nurses in Hunter's office that he had noticed a discrepancy between the amount of Gemzar Courtney ordered and the amount he was billing Hunter. The nurses apparently became suspicious because they had noticed Hunter's patients did not show common side effects associated with chemotherapy drugs.

Hunter turned to the federal Food and Drug Administration after tests she ordered showed greatly reduced concentrations of the drugs.