Pharmacy firm in meningitis crisis knew of contaminants

A report by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that internal monitoring at the New England Compounding Center (NECC) had repeatedly detected bacterial and mold contaminations in the months before the first suspect shipments of injectable steroid treatments left the production site in May.

NECC said in a statement that it had received a copy of the report and would provide comments to health officials after reviewing the document.

The report, known as an FDA Form 483, contained findings collected by NECC's environmental monitoring program from January to September, as well as observations from several October inspections conducted by FDA and Massachusetts state officials.

Three lots of NECC preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate for back and joint pain have been linked to a national outbreak of rare fungal meningitis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that 331 cases, including 25 deaths, in 18 states had been reported.

Massachusetts health regulators said earlier this week that they had found evidence of problematic procedures, record-keeping and work conditions inside the pharmacy facility.

'Greenish-black foreign matter'

According to the FDA report, company records showed more than four dozen instances of bacterial or mold contamination that exceeded acceptable levels over an eight-month period. Some of the contamination occurred inside two “clean rooms.”

The report quoted NECC personnel as saying the firm shut off clean room air-conditioning each night at 8 p.m., a routine that FDA officials said was not typical for a facility that needs to be kept at a steady temperature.

A number of instances involved “over-growths,” or blooms of bacteria or mold visible to the naked eye.

The FDA said the discoveries were not investigated, the contaminants were not identified, and sterile products made on the days when samples were taken were not inspected.

In a teleconference with reporters, FDA officials strictly limited their remarks to the observations contained in the report.

The FDA said its own inspections found “greenish black foreign matter” and other contaminants in an injectable steroid, 17 vials of steroids containing a “white filamentous material.”

According to the report, officials found microbial growth in 50 of 50 vials tested, tarnished discoloration on the internal services of sterilizing equipment and yellow residue on equipment used to weigh ingredients and other raw materials used to create sterile drugs.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	US, Aussie chefs tackle global obesity at Italy fair

NEXT ARTICLE
Tainted South Korean instant noodles recalled across island

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit