The Massachusetts Department of Health released hundreds of pages of documents on Monday detailing a history of violations at the New England Compounding Center, whose tainted medicine has caused a nationwide meningitis outbreak. The documents include dozens of complaints from as early as April 1999, less than a year after the company began as a compounding pharmacy in Framingham, Mass.
Among the most frequently cited problems was the company’s habit of allowing doctors’ offices to fax orders for medicine without names of specific patients, a practice that is prohibited under state law. The company was also repeatedly cited for not providing the appropriate data to support its medicines’ expiration dates. All violations were eventually corrected.
The documents, released in response to requests from journalists, provide a window into regulators’ attempts to crack down on problems at the company, and the company’s efforts to correct them.
“New England Compounding Center worked cooperatively with the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy to resolve to the board’s satisfaction any issues brought to the company’s attention,” the company said in a statement.

Continue reading New York Times article here