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Centene-Bought Pharmacy Won't Give Missouri Execution Drugs

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A Missouri health care company says a pharmacy it recently bought will not provide execution drugs to the state.

Centene Corp. on Tuesday said Foundation Care has not and will not provide any drugs for executions. Centene bought the suburban St. Louis compounding pharmacy in October 2017.

Buzzfeed News has reported that Foundation Care supplied the Missouri Department of Corrections with pentobarbital for 17 executions since 2014 at a cost of more than $135,000. The media outlet cites two sources with knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of strict state laws prohibiting disclosure or publishing the identity of the supplier.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann declined comment. Phone and email messages that The Associated Press left with Foundation Care were not immediately returned.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.