New England Compounding Center (NECC) was a

compounding In the field of pharmacy, compounding (performed in compounding pharmacies) is preparation of a custom formulation of a medication to fit a unique need of a patient that cannot be met with commercially available products. This may be done for me ...

pharmacy founded in 1998. Based in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

, NECC was a family-run business owned by Barry J. Cadden, his wife, Lisa Cadden (née Conigliaro) and her brother Gregory Conigliaro.

2012 fungal infection scandal

The company became the center of a scandal resulting from a meningitis outbreak that started on May 21, 2012 and is linked to 76 deaths. NECC recalled more than 2,000 products after distributing 17,000 vials of

methylprednisolone Methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol, Medrol, Solu-Medrol) is a synthetic glucocorticoid, primarily prescribed for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. It is either used at low doses for chronic illnesses or used concomitantly at hig ...

for injection contaminated with

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

to 23 states.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) regulations dictate that compounding pharmacies like NECC combine, mix, or alter ingredients only to create specific drugs for individual patients. Massachusetts state regulators reported NECC was licensed only to prepare individual patient prescriptions. The company, however, shipped drugs to multiple states, and may have been operating outside of their legal boundaries, authorities said. Doctors, hospitals, and clinics had turned to compounding pharmacies like NECC because they often charge much lower prices than the major manufacturers."Scant Oversight of Drug Maker in Fatal Meningitis Outbreak"
Denise Grady; Andrew Pollack; Sabrina Tavernisd, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', October 6, 2012 On December 21, 2012, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing less than $2.34 million in debts. Following the bankruptcy, a ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

'' investigation into financial filings revealed company payments exceeding $22 million to the top executives and private equity investors in 2012.Meningitis-linked pharmacy owners got millions: filing
by Tim McGlaughlin, Reuters, January 22, 2013.

References

External links

{{Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Pharmaceutical companies established in 1998 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 Health care companies based in Massachusetts