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Federal agents yesterday raided the New England Compounding Center, the pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak that has killed 16 people and sickened more than 230 others in 15 states.Massachusetts’ top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, said: “I can confirm that this office and our law-enforcement partners are investigating allegations concerning the New England Compounding Center.”Yesterday afternoon, agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration searched the company’s facility in Framingham, Mass., while local police provided support, officials said.In a statement, Ortiz said it was “premature” to say what the investigation will show.In Washington, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., called on the Justice Department to investigate whether NECC violated federal laws designed to stem illegal activity in controlled drugs.NECC already faces multiple investigations by the FDA and several states, but Markey’s request could launch a more-serious probe involving the Drug Enforcement Administration, which oversees sales of potentially addictive or “controlled” drugs.“This is a matter that I believe requires further investigation by the DEA to ensure that this facility, already believed to have broken Massachusetts state law, has not also skirted federal law related to controlled substances,” said Markey, a senior member of the committee that oversees business.Meanwhile, Virginia health authorities linked the death of man in the southwestern part of the state to the outbreak. It was the 16th death overall and the second in Virginia in the outbreak that has been connected to contaminated steroid injections.Also yesterday, the Ohio Department of Health said four meningitis cases in Marion County have been linked to the recalled steroid injections, giving Ohio a total of seven cases.The people sickened in Marion County are a 45-year-old man and three women, ages 47, 50 and 55. Earlier cases involved a Hamilton County man and women in Crawford and Morrow counties.Four clinics in Marion, Cincinnati and Dublin received the injections, which were used to treat back pain.Officials say the revised number of Ohio patients who received the injections is 425. Most have been warned to watch for symptoms.The state says 64 Ohio facilities purchased the pharmacy’s products, including topical products that are considered low-risk, but officials don’t know how many patients might have received the drugs in an expanded recall list.
Original article found at
Federal agents raid pharmacy linked to deadly meningitis cases | The Columbus Dispatch
Original article found at
Federal agents raid pharmacy linked to deadly meningitis cases | The Columbus Dispatch
