Product News and Recalls

Meningitis pharmacy owner has history of noncompliance

The co-owner of the New England Compounding Center, a Massachusetts pharmacy blamed for a deadly meningitis outbreak, allegedly has a history of failing to cooperate with federal regulators.

A Congressional committee released a memo detailing pharmacist Barry Cadden’s past attempts to defy investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a story in the Boston Globe.

During a 2004 inspection, for example, Cadden initially denied having eye medication that was the subject of a complaint. But an FDA inspector later found 189 vials of that medication in a drawer on the premises.

The NECC produced the injectable steroid medication later found to contain a fungal contaminant blamed for the national outbreak of meningitis – an inflammation of the tissue surrounding the spinal cord and the brain.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak has sickened 438 patients and killed 32 in 19 states.

The Congressional committee’s memo cites previous episodes when Cadden was blatantly defiant to FDA investigators. Some involved patients getting sick from microbe-contaminated products that were supposed to be sterile, including one that involved the same steroid implicated in the ongoing outbreak.

Lopez McHugh is investigating cases related to this outbreak. If you or a loved one had an injection and were diagnosed with meningitis, you should consult with a Lopez McHugh lawyer for a free consultation.

See the story here:

https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2012/11/13/owner-pharmacy-center-meningitis-outbreak-was-faulted/mkCLWorSxM9vhFsnCuu6ZK/story.html