When Norvir-taking Brit Phillip Kay died after downing two-and-a-half tabs of ecstasy (MDMA) last fall, his partner, Jim Lumb, wanted to know why. A toxicology report showed that the mount of MDMA in Kay’s bloodstream was equal to 22 hits of the contraband. Lumb’s suspicion of a Norvir/MDMA interaction was confirmed when Abbott Labs acknowledged that its protease inhibitor and recreational drugs may make a lethal mix. Norvir triples the MDMA in an ecstasy-lased system, the drug giant told Lumb in a letter. Add to this the fact that about 10 percent of Caucasians have a genetic problem metabolizing MDMA. The result? A Norvir-taker who superabsorbs ecstasy may be getting 10 times more than he bargained for. Web wizard Lumb set the internet abuzz with his cautionary tale. But Abbott’s mum, saying any official warning might be misconstrued as an illegal-narcotics endorsement. Even after faxes flew from Project Inform and other watchdogs, the company isn’t waving a red flag. “We’ll release an advisory letter to anyone who requests it,” says Abbott’s Kim Modory. “But there isn’t enough concrete evidence for us to send out an alert.”