Settlement reached over deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak

Owners and insurers of a now-bankrupt Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a deadly meningitis outbreak have agreed to pay more than $100 million to compensate victims, families of victims and creditors.

The preliminary settlement announced on Monday, which requires court approval, would resolve many claims arising from tainted steroid injections linked to New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc of Framingham, Massachusetts.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 64 people died and 751 were sickened in 20 U.S. states by injections of methylprednisolone acetate, a drug typically used to ease back pain.

The outbreak occurred after NECC shipped tainted vials of the steroid to medical facilities throughout the United States.

NECC filed for bankruptcy protection December 21, 2012, two months after shutting down as the outbreak began.

Thomas Sobol, a partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro representing a plaintiffs' steering committee, called the accord "a big step forward in getting justice for victims."

Kristen Johnson Parker, another Hagens Berman partner, in a phone interview said, "All victims of the NECC tragedy should be able to share in the funds."

Meningitis outbreak may affect more than 23 states The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today they are advising medical professionals not to use any products manufactured by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., due to an outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to some medications made by the company.

Three lots of the company's preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate that go back to July 2012 have been recalled and are believed to be the cause of the recent outbreak. Thirty-five cases of fungal meningtitis in six states have been identified, with five deaths. The majority of the cases, 25 in total, have been discovered in Tennessee.

"Given the severity of illness, we believe these precautionary measures are warranted to protect public health," Ilisa Bernstein, director of the FDA office of compliance, said to reporters during a conference call today.

Dr. Benjamin Park, medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters that 23 states may have received shipments of the tainted product. These states include: California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas and West Virginia. A total of 75 facilities may have received product from one of these three recalled lots.

NECC's owners, bankruptcy trustee Paul Moore and lawyers for a committee of unsecured NECC creditors also confirmed the settlement in a joint statement. The owners denied liability or wrongdoing.