NECC Trial: Barry Cadden Not Guilty Of Second Degree Murder; Guilty Of Racketeering, Mail Fraud

BOSTON, MA — The jury has reached a verdict in the Barry Cadden trial, the U.S. Attorney's office announced at about 9:45 a.m. Following about 20 hours of deliberation by the jury, Cadden was found guilty of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead. He was found not guilty of second degree murder and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Cadden, the former president of the New England Compounding Center, faced nearly 100 charges, including second-degree murder for the deaths of 64 people during the NECC meningitis outbreak. An additional 700 people were allegedly made sick by the company's tainted steroids.

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, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Specifically, 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,” the U.S. Attorney's office said

Cadden faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each of the mail fraud and racketeering counts. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21. Cadden is free on bail

Image Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne