By Dick Miller 17
WE CONNECT DOTS: New England Compounding Center (NECC) was in a very lucrative business which has somehow escaped regulation by either the state of Massachusetts or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pharmacists alter or remix existing drugs to meet particular needs of patients who otherwise are not responding to treatment. This is known as drug compounding.
State pharmacy boards are mostly responsible for oversight even though some, like NECC, have been supplying regular drug stores across state lines. The FDA claims that whenever they try to assert jurisdiction, courts rule otherwise.
This system remained under the radar until last fall’s fungal meningitis outbreak. The outbreak was eventually linked to an epidural steroid injection produced by NECC.
This system remained under the radar until last fall’s fungal meningitis outbreak. The outbreak was eventually linked to an epidural steroid injection produced by NECC.
This report has been put together with dispatches by Reuter News, the Associated Press and CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Now the toll has reached 620 documented cases in 19 states, resulting in 47 deaths.
Now the toll has reached 620 documented cases in 19 states, resulting in 47 deaths.
NECC claimed FDA did not issue a meningitis warning for 684 days. FDA admitted to a “significant delay” but insisted the delay “in no way diminishes our serious concerns about (NECC) operations.
Now that the lax oversight has passed from the Bush Administration to Obama’s watch, the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives makes headlines, convincing us they ride white horses. Some reform measures granting FDA more regulatory power might be taken up by the 113th Congress, but don’t hold your breath.
Then again, the crisis might languish, similar to the recent debate on gun control. This could be another example of more concern about burdensome regulations causing corporations to lose profit.
Continue reading here
No comments:
Post a Comment