A German drug company may become the prime supplier of execution drugs to the US following a decision by the State of Missouri to use propofol in lethal injections.

Leading drugs company Lundbeck is the first to sign up to a new ‘Pharmaceutical Hippocratic oath’ for the industry, condemning the use of drugs in executions.

An international coalition of medical professionals has called on the pharmaceuticals company Hospira to prevent their products from being used in US executions.

The European Commission has announced that it is blocking the export of certain key lethal injection drugs which are widely used in US executions.