New England Compounding Center
| Industry | Pharmaceutical |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Defunct | October 5, 2012 |
| Fate | Bankrupted in 2012; owners and senior staff sentenced to prison |
| Headquarters | Framingham, Massachusetts U.S. |
Key people | Gregory Conigliaro, owner and director Barry Cadden, owner, president and head pharmacist[1][2] Lisa Conigliaro Cadden, pharmacist and owner[3] Douglas Conigliaro, anesthesiologist and president of Medical Sales Management Carla Conigliaro, shareholder and director; wife of Douglas Conigliaro Glenn Adam Chin, supervisory pharmacist[4] |
| Website | neccrx.com |
New England Compounding Center (NECC) was a compounding pharmacy founded in 1998. Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, NECC was a family-run business owned by Barry J. Cadden, his wife, Lisa Cadden (née Conigliaro)[5] and her brother Gregory Conigliaro.[6][7] The company declared bankruptcy in 2012, and Barry Cadden was sentenced to 14.5 years in prison for 57 counts of racketeering and fraud, along with sentences to other company owners and executives, associated with mass illness and deaths due to the contaminated preparations NECC knowingly distributed to clients.[8] They all managed to avoid conviction for second-degree murder.[8]
2012 fungal infection scandal
The company became the center of a scandal resulting from a meningitis outbreak that started on May 21, 2012 and is linked to 76 deaths.[9] NECC recalled more than 2,000 products after distributing 17,000 vials of methylprednisolone for injection contaminated with fungi to 23 states.[10]
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations dictate that compounding pharmacies like NECC combine, mix, or alter ingredients only to create specific drugs for individual patients. Massachusetts state regulators reported NECC was licensed only to prepare individual patient prescriptions. The company, however, shipped drugs to multiple states, and may have been operating outside of their legal boundaries, authorities said.[11] Doctors, hospitals, and clinics had turned to compounding pharmacies like NECC because they often charge much lower prices than the major manufacturers.[12]
On December 21, 2012, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing less than $2.34 million in debts.[13] Following the bankruptcy, a Reuters investigation into financial filings revealed company payments exceeding $22 million to the top executives and private equity investors in 2012.[14]
References
- ^ Tavernise, Abby Goodnough, Sabrina; Pollack, Andrew (24 October 2012). "With Meningitis Outbreak, a Spotlight on Family Behind Compounding Pharmacy". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Shira Schoenberg (December 17, 2014). "Fourteen arrested, including owners, for meningitis outbreak tied to New England Compounding Center". The Republican. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
Those arrested include: Owner, president and head pharmacist Barry Cadden; owner and director Greg Conigliaro; national sales director Robert Ronzio; shareholder and director Carla Conigliaro; Conigliaro's husband Doug Conigliaro, who was president of Medical Sales Management, which provided sales and administrative services to New England Compounding Pharmacy; Pharmacists Glenn Chin, Gene Svirskiy, Christopher Leary, Joseph Evanosky, Alla Stepanets, Kathy Chin and Michelle Thomas; Pharmacy technician Scott Connolly; and Pharmacy technician and later director of operations Sharon Carter.
- ^ Laura Strickler (October 16, 2012). "Inside the New England Compounding Center". CBS News. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
The New England Compounding Center is a family-owned and operated pharmacy based in Framingham, Mass. It is owned by Barry J. Cadden, his wife, Lisa Cadden and her brother Gregory Conigliaro, according to public records from the Secretary of Commonwealth.
- ^ "NECC sterility pharmacist arrested". The Tennessean.
- ^ Abby Goodnough, Sabrine Tavernise and Andrew Pollack (October 24, 2012). "Spotlight Put on Founders of Drug Firm in Outbreak". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
Since the national outbreak began in September, most of the scrutiny has been focused on two founders of New England Compounding, Gregory Conigliaro, an entrepreneur who has run a major recycling operation for two decades, and Mr. Cadden, the pharmacist who married Mr. Conigliaro's sister Lisa, also a pharmacist.
- ^ cbsnews.com - Inside the New England Compounding Center, 2012-10-15
- ^ "New England Compounding Center paid owners more than $16 million last year".
- ^ a b Raymond, Nate (2021-07-07). "Pharmacy exec in deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak gets stiffer, 14-1/2 year prison term". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ - Brian E. Dickerson, Anthony J. Calamunci, Nicole Hughes Waid, Amy L. Butler and Katy Wane (30 June 2017). "Pharmacist at Center of 2012 Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison". Fisher Broyles LLP. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Investors buying compounders: Drug shortages are persisting, leading to the deals, by Jaimy Lee, Modern Healthcare, January 13, 2013.
- ^ Barry Cadden, Gregory Conigliaro, Of New England Compounding Center, Had Background In Recycling, by Jay Lindsay, Associated Press, October 13, 2012.
- ^ "Scant Oversight of Drug Maker in Fatal Meningitis Outbreak", Denise Grady; Andrew Pollack; Sabrina Tavernisd, The New York Times, October 6, 2012
- ^ "New England Compounding Center, Pharmacy Linked To Meningitis Outbreak, Files For Bankruptcy". The Huffington Post. December 21, 2012.
- ^ Meningitis-linked pharmacy owners got millions: filing, by Tim McGlaughlin, Reuters, January 22, 2013.