Health Officials Warn Of Infections Tied To Tennessee Compounding Pharmacy

Posted on May 28, 2013

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating whether a steroid pain-killing drug manufactured at a Tennessee-based compounding pharmacy is responsible for infections suffered by seven patients who received injections of the drug.

The rate of infections, so far, pall before last year’s fungal meningitis outbreak tied to contaminated injectable steroids manufactured at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy. However, these latest infections appear to be linked to drugs that contain methylprednisolone acetate — the same drug involved in last year’s fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 55 people and sickened over 740 nationwide.

Federal Health authorities have identified five patients who were infected after receiving the drug at a pain clinic in Illinois. Another two patients were reportedly infected in North Carolina. All of the Illinois patients contracted skin infections after receiving injections of the drug compounded at Main Street Family Pharmacy in Newbern, Tennessee.

One of the North Carolina patients reportedly has an unspecified fungal infection. It is not fungal meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Tennessee Health Commissioner said that, “this situation does not approach the severity of the fungal infections in 2012.” However, he did add that the investigation is still in its early stages and that it is “rapidly evolving.”

Earlier this month, a St. Petersburg, Florida compounding pharmacy agreed to recall all of its sterile drugs after FDA inspectors identified sterility problems at the company that could have led to bacterial contamination of the drugs it compounded.

In the wake of last year’s massive fungal meningitis outbreak, Congress has been calling for more oversight of compounding pharmacies. The debate on exactly how to do that is ongoing.

If you believe you have suffered an injury due to a contaminated drug, the pharmaceutical litigation attorneys at Farah & Farah in Palatka want to hear from you. Due to the complex issues in this area of law, we recommend that you seek the support and experience that our law firm can provide. We are dedicated to seeing that you get the compensation you deserve.