The Norman Transcript

Nation/World

Discussion

October 12, 2012

Suit: Firm provided tainted meds in 2002

By Holbrook Mohr Associated Press

NORMAN — Long before the current rash of fungal meningitis, the compounding pharmacy suspected in the outbreak settled a lawsuit alleging it produced a tainted shot that caused a man’s death in 2004.

Earlier this summer, a separate pharmaceutical firm with common owners was accused of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile supplies.

That pharmaceutical company was shut down Wednesday for inspections, the latest example of fallout from the growing outbreak.

Officials have identified Framingham, Mass., based-New England Compounding Center as the source of steroid shots suspected in the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis that has killed at least 12 people and made more than 130 others sick in 10 states.

Allegations of a shot tainted with a different form of meningitis were at the heart of a lawsuit filed against the company over the 2004 death. An 83-year-old man died about a year and a half after receiving a shot produced by the company.

Another drug company that has some of the same owners, Ameridose LLC, agreed to temporarily stop its compounding and manufacturing operations as a precaution while regulators inspect its facilities, but the measure is being done as a precaution, not because of evidence of contamination, officials said Wednesday. Ameridose, based in Westborough, Mass., was accused by a business customer this year of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile products in its warehouse.

Andrew Paven, a spokesman for both companies, said: “Ameridose is a separate entity from New England Compounding Center, with distinct operational management.”

“We have separate production facilities, separate processes and operate at separate locations in different cities. Although there is common ownership, the two companies operate under separate registrations and different licensure,” the statement from Paven said.

On Wednesday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said the New England Compounding Center may have misled regulators and done work beyond the scope of its state license. The company was licensed to fill specific prescriptions for specific patients but exceeded that, he said.

“What they were doing instead is making big batches and selling them out of state as a manufacturer would, and that is certainly outside of their state license,” he said.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Nation/World
  • Third-grader left school with minutes to spare

    Faces of the storm The Oklahoma medical examiner’s office says it has positively identified all 24 people killed in the tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, including 10 children: Monday’s tornadoes — Terri Long, ...

    May 24, 2013

  • Man fatally shot while questioned in Boston probe

    ORLANDO, Fla. — A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities in central Florida early Wednesday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, officials said....

    May 23, 2013

  • More tornadoes from global warming? Nobody knows

    A deadly tornado hit suburban Oklahoma City on Monday. A quick look at some basic facts: Q: Is global warming to blame? A: You can’t blame a single weather event on global warming. In any case, scientists just don’t know whether there will ...

    May 22, 2013

  • Tornado season starts late, but starts nonetheless

    TULSA — Deadly tornadoes that have raked communities in Middle America over the past week, including Monday’s massive twister that carved a path of destruction through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, belie what had been a relatively ...

    May 21, 2013

  • Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians

    JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement....

    May 20, 2013

  • Syrian troops push into town

    BEIRUT — Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Fate of Los Angeles marijuana shops left to voters

    LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles politicians have struggled for more than five years to regulate medical marijuana, trying to balance the needs of the sick against neighborhood concerns that pot shops attract crime. Voters will head to the polls ...

    May 20, 2013

  • AP CEO calls seizure unconstitutional

    WASHINGTON — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Obama urged to make economy a bigger topic

    WASHINGTON — Five months into President Barack Obama’s second term, allies and former top aides worry that his overarching goal of economic opportunity has been diminished, partly drowned out by controversies seized upon by Republicans in ...

    May 20, 2013

  • Official: Driver in parade crash likely had medical condition

    DAMASCUS, Va. — Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town parade suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday. ...

    May 20, 2013