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The original capsules, tested at the military hospital and by the Ministry, were dangerous enough, but the mass-produced capsules contained about three times as much tin compound as the experimental ones. They were made with such primitive methods (pressed in a century-old gadget that looked like a wafer machine) that no two capsules had the same dosage of tin salt and "vitamin F." When the tin began oxidizing, further increasing its poisonous effect, the manufacturers merely noted that the ingredients became darker, and added artificial coloring to the gelatin coating. The ironic climax of the toxicologist's testimony: a slide demonstrating how staphylococci, which can be destroyed by antibiotics, actually proliferated and prospered when treated with Stalinon.
Following horrifying news reports of the trial, many Frenchmen hoped that the case would lead to a clean sweep of France's antiquated pharmaceutical laws. On trial was not only Pharmacist Feuillet but in effect the French Ministry of Health, which had tested Stalinon and allowed it to be marketed. One official coolly explained to the court: "We have only about two minutes on the average to examine each new product submitted." He claimed that "nothing was wrong" with the way Stalinon was approved and that "the same thing would happen again, and we would again issue the permit."
As prosecution and defense wound up their case, Feuillet's icy calm cracked in a flood of tears. Last week he was found guilty of "gross neglect" and "unscrupulous" behavior, sentenced to the maximum penalty under French law: two years in prison and a million francs ($2,500) fine. To the Stalinon victims and their families, the court awarded $1,533,000 in damages, but they were not likely to collect: both Feuillet and the owner of the pharmaceutical firm that manufactured Stalinon deny that they have the money to pay.
* No longer considered a chemical entity in the U.S.