14 Charged in Meningitis Outbreak that Killed 19 in Michigan

Michigan officials think the number of patients who received tainted injections of steroids for pain management may be close to 1,800. Sixty-four people died as a result, and some of those who survived continue to struggle with complications and financial problems. (Photo licensed under Creative Commons)

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Fourteen owners or employers of a Boston pharmacy were charged with various offenses – including multiple charges of second-degree murder against two of them – after tainted drug injections prepared there were linked to a 2012 outbreak of meningitis that killed 64 people nationwide, including 19 in Michigan.

The most serious of the charges spelled out in federal indictments unsealed Wednesday were against New England Compounding Center co-founder Barry Cadden and pharmacist Glenn Adam Chin, who face 25 charges of second-degree murder, as well federal racketeering charges, the Associated Press reports.

After getting injections of tainted steroids manufactured at the pharmaceutical company’s labs, 750 people in 20 states were sickened with fungal meningitis. Sixty-four of them died. The steroids were medically prescribed for pain management and were not taken as part of a bodybuilding program.

Among the hardest hit states was Michigan, where the 264 cases resulted in 19 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. The Detroit Free Press reports Michigan health officials estimate the number of patients who received the tainted drugs was much higher.

At least 1,791 people received the toxic medication, which was administered at Michigan Pain Specialists in Brighton, the Southeast Michigan Surgical Hospital in Warren, the Michigan Neurosurgical Institute in Grand Blanc and the Neuromuscular and Rehabilitation Associates of Northern Michigan in Traverse City.

The NECC was founded in 1998 by brothers-in-law Cadden and Gregory Conigliaro. Conigliaro was among 12 people arrested in the Boston area. Cadden and pharmacist Chinn face the most serious charges; others are charged with offenses ranging from mail frud to the introduction of adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.

In Michigan, family members of those who received the tainted injections heralded news of the arrests.

“It’s hard to say it’s a relief because it doesn’t change anything for us in our physical lives, but it takes a burden off emotionally,” Linda Nedroscik of Howell told the AP. Her husband, John, 64, survived the injection, but is still in poor health. She said the ordeal left the family “out a lot of money,” but they’ve been told not to expect a financial settlement.

The arrests were a “long time coming,” said Southfield attorney Marc Lipton, who represents 80 clients who were affected by the meningitis outbreak, including who client who amassed $950,000 in medical bills and others who who have “nerve injuries that cannot be surgically remedied.”

“Some of the stories are just horrific,” Lipton told the Free Press.

Attorney Stephen Weymouth said his client, Chin, “fees hugely remorseful for everything that’s happened – for the injuries and the deaths – but he never intended to cause harm to anybody.”

He said the second-degree charges against his client are “a bit of an overreach.”

The AP said messages were left for other attorneys representing defendant’s in the case.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said numerous unsafe practices were applied at the now-shuttered compounding pharmacy, which custom-mixed prescription drugs and supplied them directly to doctors and hospitals. Among the allegations are that expired ingredients were used, drugs weren’t properly sterilized and follow-up tests to confirm sterilization weren’t performed.

After the contaminated medication was discovered two years ago, regulators found standing water, mold, water droplets and dirty equipment at the company’s Framingham, MA, plant.

Related:

• UPDATED: Federal Agents Arrest Owners, 12 Others in Connection to Deadly Meningitis Linked to NECC

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette joined Acting Associate U.S. Attorney General Stuart Delery, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts, Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division and FDA Deputy Commissioner Howard Sklamberg in the announcement of the charges.

“Every family affected by this fungal meningitis tragedy deserves answers, and today’s announcement is the next step toward achieving justice for victims and their loved ones,” Schuette said in a statement. “Ongoing coordination between state and federal investigators has maximized the resources dedicated to this investigation and resulted in the serious criminal charges announced today. We will continue to work with federal investigators as our independent state investigation moves forward.”