The drug company responsible for the recent meningitis outbreak - 247 cases, including 19 deaths as of today - is now facing scrutiny over their shipments of more than 100,000 other drugs, according to The New York Times.
The New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. shipped more than 17,000 vials of the fungus-contaminated spinal injection drug to 23 states. The Food and Drug Administration and state health departments are now focusing on a list of more than 131,000 shipping invoices for other products from the Center across the U.S.
"The products of most concern are drugs used during open-heart surgery and eye operations, and another steroid, triamcinolone, also used in spinal injections," writes Denise Grady and Abby Goodnough. "But other products are suspect as well, and the list of drugs made by the company runs to 71 pages."
There have been troubling reports of at least four prior complaints regarding the sterility of the Center's products to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce spoke out recently about these deadly contaminants: "We are determined to get to the bottom of how it occurred, whether it could have been prevented, and how we can ensure something like this never happens again," says Committee Press Secretary Debbee Keller. Read the full details here:
New Scrutiny of Company that Made Tainted Drug
"It has long been believed that drug companies in the U.S. were being scrutinized by the FDA, and, therefore, safe to produce and distribute drugs to patients," says Steve Crandall, a top-rated medical malpractice attorney throughout Ohio and Kentucky.
"The question is, if the FDA is overlooking this reality, who is left to protect patients?"
If you have any questions regarding medical malpractice throughout Ohio and Kentucky, contact Steve Crandall. Steve is available to help answer your questions and guide you in determining your next steps.
Meningitis Outbreak: Could Other Drugs Be Affected?