Suit: Firm provided tainted meds in 2002, man died

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/suit-firm-provided-tainted-meds-2002-man-died

Long before the current rash of fungal meningitis, the compounding pharmacy suspected in the outbreak settled a lawsuit alleging it produced a tainted shot that caused a man's death in 2004.

Earlier this summer, a separate pharmaceutical firm with common owners was accused of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile supplies. That pharmaceutical company was shut down Wednesday for inspections, the latest example of fallout from the growing outbreak.

Officials have identified Framingham, Mass., based-New England Compounding Center as the source of steroid shots suspected in the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis that has killed at least 12 people and made more than 130 others sick in 10 states.

Allegations that a shot tainted with bacteria caused a man to contract a different form of meningitis were at the heart of a lawsuit filed against the company over the 2004 death. An 83-year-old man died about a year and a half after receiving a shot produced by the company.

Another drug company that has some of the same owners, Ameridose LLC, agreed to temporarily stop its compounding and manufacturing operations as a precaution while regulators inspect its facilities, but the measure is being done as a precaution, not because of evidence of contamination, officials said Wednesday. Ameridose, based in Westborough, Mass., was accused by a business customer this year of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile products in its warehouse.