Genentech employee is first fatal MGM-15 overdose victim in SF

A 37-year-old Genentech scientist died last month at his San Francisco home of an overdose of a dangerous new opioid found in products sold openly at smoke shops and gas stations, according to a medical examiner’s report.

The report identifies Robert Schuldt as the first person in the city to die of an accidental overdose of MGM-15, a synthetic drug derived from the psychoactive plant kratom. MGM-15 was detected in Schuldt’s blood, and investigators found among his belongings an empty package of a product called “cat’s claw botanical extract.”

Schuldt’s unusually loud snoring woke his fiancée around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, according to the medical examiner’s report. Her fiancé sat down on the living room couch and fell asleep.

About two and a half hours later, he woke up to find Schuldt unconscious in the bedroom of the Alamo Square apartment they shared. He called 911. A responder told him to move his fiancée to the ground and begin chest compressions.

Despite these efforts, Schuldt died at 7:55 a.m., according to the report.

Public health officials are increasingly concerned about potent kratom-related products, which are illegal to sell for consumption but remain available despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise to crack down on them. A spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health could not immediately provide comment Tuesday evening.

Schuldt’s fiance told investigators that Schuldt had complained of feeling “dizzy” the day before he died, but was otherwise in good health. Schuldt had a history of “sporadic recreational drug use,” his fiancé said without specifying what substances he used. Her fiancé did not know that Schuldt had recently used alcohol or drugs.

Investigators learned that Schuldt had recently purchased a product marketed as “cat’s claw botanical extract.” They detected kratom alkaloids in the packaging.

Hillary Kunins, director of behavioral health services for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said at a department news conference Friday that “there was no mention on the packaging of the product consumed by the San Francisco individual that it contained MGM, or that it was a kratom-derived product.”

MGM-15, a drug 50 times more potent than morphine, has also been responsible for overdose deaths in Utah, Mississippi and Washington state, according to Kunins. City health officials issued a public warning about the drug last week and said hundreds of products suspected of containing kratom were recently seized from two tobacco stores.

“The sale of these products is illegal and not authorized for human consumption,” Ministry of Public Health Director Daniel Tsai said at the news conference.

Kratom is not a federally controlled substance, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it cannot be legally added to foods or marketed as a dietary supplement. In August, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration designated MGM-15 and other dangerous kratom-derived products as Schedule 1 drugs, limiting their manufacture, sale and use.

California has not passed a law explicitly banning kratom. State officials instead rely on food safety laws to consider foods and drinks containing kratom adulterated and illegal to sell for consumption.

Although MGM-15 can give people energy when taken in small amounts, it can act like an opiate in large doses and make it harder for people to breathe, Kunins said. Its strength can also vary greatly from product to product.

There is very little research on the impacts of MGM-15, said Katie Hill, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. The “federal government is moving to criminalize this drug and most people don’t even know what it is.”

Authorities warned residents to avoid using unregulated supplements and substances derived from kratom and to call 911 in case of overdose. They believe the effects of MGM-15 can be reversed with an opioid overdose medication, naloxone, or Narcan.

Cat’s claw is traditionally an herbal product with anti-inflammatory effects used for pain relief, said Oliver Grundmann, a researcher at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. It is often derived from the roots of an African plant that resembles a claw when dried.

Schuldt may have purchased cat’s claw without knowing that synthetic compounds had been added “to a product that absolutely should not contain them,” Grundmann said after reviewing the report.

Schuldt is not the first victim of a new drug in San Francisco this year.

Last month, authorities announced arrests after a months-long investigation sparked by the death of a teenager caused by drugs including cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid 10 times more potent than fentanyl. The suspects were accused of selling counterfeit pills.

Schuldt worked as a research scientist in health economics and outcomes at the biotechnology company Genentech, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously researched home health care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and volunteered as an English as a Second Language and computer science instructor.

Schuldt’s family declined to comment for this story.

Jesse Sussell, who worked with Schuldt at Genentech, described him as “the extrovert on a team of introverts” and a “tapestry of stories.”

“Robert was a special person, full of light,” Sussell said.

Schuldt’s parents told investigators that he “recently completed his doctorate, successfully lost weight, got engaged, and expressed a positive outlook on his future.”