Criminal inquiry of fungal meningitis outbreak cases opened

Board of Pharmacy has revoked licenses of compounding center, 3 pharmacists

Author: By the CNN Wire Staff
Published On: Oct 23 2012 09:53:42 PM EDT   Updated On: Oct 23 2012 09:59:51 PM EDT
NECC steroid vials tied to meningitis outbreak
(CNN) -

Federal authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the practices at the company linked to a fungal meningitis outbreak that has led to 23 deaths, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick told reporters Tuesday.

In addition, the Board of Pharmacy has voted to revoke permanently the New England Compounding Center's license to operate in Massachusetts as well as the licenses of the company's three principal pharmacists, Patrick said.

The announcements came in the wake of a damning nine-page report, released Tuesday by the Board of Registration in Pharmacy, which is part of the state's Department of Public Health.

Investigators for the DPH, working with their counterparts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "identified serious deficiencies and significant violations of pharmacy law and regulations that clearly placed the public's health at risk," it said.

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