Viking lands book on infected blood scandal by journalist McGoogan in five-way auction

Viking has landed a book on the infected blood scandal by investigative journalist Cara McGoogan in a five-way auction.

Greg Clowes, commissioning editor, acquired world English rights to The Poison Line: The True Story of the Infected Blood Scandal from Nick Walters at David Luxton Associates. It will publish in summer 2023. 

The book follows the "worst treatment disaster in the NHS’s history”. Factor VIII was pitched as a medical miracle: a drug made from human plasma that enabled people with haemophilia to lead lives free of fear that a minor injury would prove fatal. But in the 1980s, tens of thousands of haemophiliacs began to test positive with HIV and AIDS. Their life-saving treatment Factor VIII was infected. 

The Infected Blood Inquiry was recently front-page news when Sir Brian Langstaff recommended an interim payment of £100,000 to each of the 4,000 surviving victims.  

McGoogan has previously worked on the scandal as part of her “Bed of Lies” podcast, where she traces the line of infection, corruption and corporate greed back to four pharmaceutical companies.

Clowes said: “Cara McGoogan is one of the best young investigative journalists in the UK. She showed that in her ‘Bed of Lies’ podcast. And now she’s ideally placed to write this narrative account of the infected blood scandal – a disaster that’s spooled out across the world from the 1980s to the present. Governments and pharmaceutical companies have attempted to bury what happened, but now – finally – the reality is coming to light. As a listener and a writer, Cara possesses a preternatural empathy that lifts her storytelling to a whole new level. It’s a great privilege to work with her on this important book.” 

McGoogan added: “The infected blood scandal is one of the worst disasters in the UK in terms of loss of life – and yet very few people know about it. I have spent months listening to the accounts of people who were given HIV and hepatitis C by a medical treatment; they have told me about devastating loss, crippling sickness and a mammoth fight for justice. Everyone should care about their stories, the pharmaceutical greed and the ensuing cover-up, to prevent a disaster like this from happening again. I am thrilled to be working with Greg Clowes and the team at Viking, who have all shown such great enthusiasm for The Poison Line. Their emotional connection with the tragedy was palpable from our first meeting and I am confident they will help me create a book that is sensitive, compelling and will do justice to those who have shared their stories with me.”