Meningitis Pharmacy Owners Received Millions Before Closing

Bankruptcy filings show that the Massachusetts pharmacy responsible for the recent nationwide meningitis outbreak had grown into a thriving business during its last few months of operations and paid its owners more than $16 million in wages and other payments before shutting down.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that between December 2011 and November 2012, the four family members who owned the Framingham-based New England Compounding Center (NECC) —and also served as directors to the company—received more than $16 million from the booming company business. The major portion of the money, however, was paid out before the first few cases of the outbreak were uncovered in September 2012.

The AP writes that the disclosure came from documents related to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on December 21, 2012. The filing documents also showed that net sales at NECC were expected to be twice what they were two years earlier.

NECC has stated that the purpose of its Chapter 11 filing was to set up a fund to fairly compensate the 130 victims who had brought lawsuits at the time of the filing, as the company does not have sufficient funds to adequately compensate victims. The NECC filing listed assets of about $1.6 million and liabilities of $885,000 from its unsecured creditors, excluding any court judgments against it, reports AP.

Health officials determined that NECC-produced steroids, used mainly to treat back pain, were responsible for the fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 44 and sickened more than 600 from 19 states.

If you or someone you know has been harmed by a fungal meningitis infection caused by contaminated steroid injections, contact Sokolove Law today for a free legal consultation and to find out if a dangerous drug lawyer may be able to help you.

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