Month: October 2012

Before meningitis outbreak, firm avoided sanctions

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Pharmaceutical compounding company NECC, a producer of the steroid methylprednisolone acetate, is seen in Framingham, MassachusettsBOSTON (Reuters) – The pharmacy tied to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak escaped harsh punishment from health regulators several times in the years leading up to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak that has raised questions about oversight of the customized drug mixing industry, newly released state records show. Problems at the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts, date as far back as 1999, the year after it began operations, according to hundreds of pages of documents obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request. …

Killer disease reaches Uganda capital, five dead

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KAMPALA (Reuters) – An outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Uganda has spread to the capital Kampala after an infected woman travelled to the city and the death toll from the disease, a cousin of Ebola, climbed to five, a health official said on Monday. The latest outbreak of another haemorrhagic fever, first confirmed on Friday in Kabale district, 430 km (270 miles) southwest of Kampala, has rattled a country that only two weeks ago declared itself free of Ebola after it claimed at least 16 lives. …

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Health officials knew of problem steroids in 2002: U.S. House panel

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and Massachusetts state health regulators were aware in 2002 that steroid treatments from the pharmacy at the center of a deadly meningitis outbreak could cause adverse patient reactions, congressional investigators said on Monday. The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee said complaints about preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate were partly responsible for joint state and federal inspections of the New England Compounding Center’s (NECC) Framingham, Massachusetts facility in 2002 and 2003. …

Meningitis probe could hit hospital drug supplies: U.S.

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A sample of Cladosporium species, one of the fungi diagnosed in the fungal meningitis outbreak sweeping the United States, in Nashville, Tennessee(Reuters) – The extended shutdown of a sister company of the pharmacy at the center of the deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak may exacerbate drug shortages for some hospitals and healthcare providers as the number of infection cases neared 300, U.S. health regulators said. Ameridose, a drug manufacturer owned by the same people who own New England Compounding Center, or NECC, has been closed since October 10. It will remain shuttered until November 5 while authorities inspect the plant, at least temporarily cutting off supplies to its customers. …

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Pharmacy linked to meningitis deaths sidestepped punishment in 2006

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BOSTON (Reuters) – The pharmacy tied to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak fended off discipline from health regulators in 2006 that could have fatally damaged the company’s reputation and put it out of business, records released on Monday revealed. The Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center (NECC) faced three years of probation and a public reprimand amid allegations that the pharmacy violated accepted standards for compounding methylprednisolone acetate, the same steroid that is linked to the current fungal meningitis outbreak. …

Filmmaker Tony Scott died with anti-depressant, sleep aid in system

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Director Tony Scott and U.S. actor Denzel Washington pose during a photocall to promote the film "The Taking of Pelham 123" in ParisLOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Filmmaker Tony Scott had an anti-depressant and sleep aid in his bloodstream when he leapt to his death from a suspension bridge in August, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said on Monday. Preliminary autopsy results confirmed that Scott's death, which baffled investigators and much of Hollywood, was a suicide, caused by blunt force trauma and drowning. …

U.S. probes deaths for links to Monster energy drink

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Two cans of Monster Energy drink are pictured in this photo-illustration shot in Los AngelesNEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that it was investigating reports of five deaths that may be associated with Monster Beverage Corp's namesake energy drink, and the company's shares fell more than 14 percent. Monster is also being sued by the family of a 14-year-old Maryland girl with a heart condition who died after drinking two cans of its Monster energy drink in a 24-hour period. Monster, the top-selling energy drink in the United States, said it does not believe its energy drink was "in any way responsible" for the girl's death. …

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