Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder, Rep. Ed Markey, 202-225-2836
Congressman Will Soon Re-introduce Bill to Clean Up Compounding Industry
WASHINGTON (February 5, 2013) – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Department of Public Health today announced the result of their surprise inspections of compounding pharmacies in the state following the deaths of 45 Americans from tainted drugs supplied by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham. The results of the inspections resulted in 11 partial or complete cease and desist orders for Massachusetts compounders who produce sterile drugs, and citations for 21 other pharmacies for minor violations.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who has been conducting a Congressional investigation into the compounding issue, today said that these were yet more examples of the need for national legislation to clean up compounding pharmacies. Rep. Markey also praised the continued work of Governor Patrick following the NECC tragedy.
“Governor Patrick is taking strong steps to inspect and identify troubling problems in the Massachusetts compounding industry that will restore safety and confidence in these drugs coming from Massachusetts,” said Rep. Markey. “Because these drugs are often shipped across state lines, even the strongest state standards will do little to solve the problem if Congress does not also hold compounding pharmacies everywhere to high safety and health standards. To protect all Americans from deadly drugs, I will soon be re-introducing a legislative package to clean up compounding pharmacies across the country.”
Following the NECC tainted drug incidents, Rep. Markey released a report on the challenges regulating the compounding industry nationwide and introduced legislation that would impose strong standards on the compounding industry.
A full timeline of Rep. Markey’s work on compounding pharmacy safety can be found here.
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