Framingham Pharmacist Sentenced For Nationwide Meningitis Outbreak

FRAMINGHAM, MA—A Wrentham man and owner and head pharmacist of the Framingham-based New England Compounding Center was sentenced on Monday in connection with the 2012 nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak.

Barry Cadden, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and forfeiture and restitution in an amount to be determined later.

In March 2017, Cadden was convicted by a federal jury of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office-District of Massachusetts.

“Barry Cadden put profits over patients,” said Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb in a statement. “He used NECC to perpetrate a massive fraud that harmed hundreds of people. Mr. Cadden knew that he was running his business dishonestly, but he kept doing it anyway to make sure the payments kept rolling in. Now he will have to pay for his crimes.”

“Barry Cadden put profits ahead of patients,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, in a statement. “Under his direction, employees assured customers that they were getting safe drugs, while Cadden ignored grave environmental failures, used expired active ingredients, and took innumerable other production shortcuts that led to numerous, entirely preventable deaths. As Cadden’s sentence reflects, the Justice Department's Consumer Protection Branch is committed to prosecuting those who put the health of Americans at risk.”

“Protecting Americans from unsafe and contaminated drugs is at the core of our mission. Patients should not have to worry about the safety and sterility of the drugs they are prescribed,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., in a statement. “Since this tragedy, Congress has given the FDA important new authorities, and the agency has implemented key policies, all to provide a greater assurance of safety over compounded medicines. As part of these efforts, we will continue to hold accountable those who violate the law and put patients at risk."

In 2012, 753 patients in 20 states were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) manufactured by NECC. Of those 753 patients, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 64 patients in nine states died. The outbreak was the largest public health crisis ever caused by a pharmaceutical product, said U.S. Attorney’s Office-District of Massachusetts

Specifically, said the release, Cadden directed and authorized the shipping of contaminated MPA to NECC customers nationwide. In addition, he authorized the shipping of drugs before test results confirming their sterility were returned, never notified customers of nonsterile results, and compounded drugs with expired ingredients. Furthermore, certain batches of drugs were manufactured, in part, by an unlicensed pharmacy technician at NECC. Cadden also repeatedly took steps to shield NECC’s operations from regulatory oversight by the FDA by claiming to be a pharmacy dispensing drugs pursuant to valid, patient-specific prescriptions. In fact, NECC routinely dispensed drugs in bulk without valid prescriptions. NECC even used fictional and celebrity names on fake prescriptions to dispense drugs, such as “Michael Jackson,” “Freddie Mae” and “Diana Ross.”

“Today, Barry Cadden was held responsible for one of the worst public health crises in this country’s history, and the lives of those impacted because of his greed, will never be the same,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, in a statement. “This deadly outbreak was truly a life-changing event for hundreds of victims, and the FBI is grateful to have played a role, alongside our law enforcement partners, in bringing this man to justice.”

Photo via WHDH-TV Channel 7 News