17 Dec, 2012 14:00 CET
A federal magistrate judge will allow plaintiffs’ experts and lawyers to inspect and test the walls and ductwork of the New England Compounding Center (NECC), the Massachusetts pharmacy responsible for the multistate meningitis outbreak.
The National Law Journal (subscriptions required) reports U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal granted the request for "minimally invasive" testing of the pharmacy and deemed it "reasonable, necessary and relevant." The proposed testing includes collection of samples from the "wall, roof, ceiling and foundational assemblies and cavities, [and] interior mechanical systems" of the building as well as testing of the clean room.
However, the judge also laid some restrictions on the four-day inspection such as no testing or removal of drugs, no access to locked drug vaults, and on-site supervision from federal law enforcement officials and/or the U.S. Attorney’s office, according to the National Law Journal.
Fungus contamination from three lots of steroid shots manufactured at NECC were linked to the fungal meningitis outbreak that sickened nearly 600 people and killed 37 from 19 states to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The National Law Journal also reports that a federal judge dealing with the pre-trial phase of the consolidated docket of Massachusetts cases has returned two of the cases back to state court.
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