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Ex-pharmacy exec convicted in nationwide meningitis outbreak

By Allen Cone

March 22 (UPI) -- A former pharmacy executive was convicted Wednesday in a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people nationwide but he was acquitted of the most serious charge, second-degree murder.

Jurors in Boston convicted Barry Cadden, 50, of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.

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But the owner and head pharmacist of the now-closed New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., about 20 miles west of Boston, was acquitted of 25 counts of second-degree murder. A majority of the 12 jurors found him responsible for 23 of the 25 deaths.

He also was acquitted of other charges, including defrauding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Jurors deliberated for five days. District Court Judge Richard Stearns set a sentencing hearing for June 21 for Cadden, who faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each fraud and racketeering counts. Cadden is out on bail while awaiting sentencing.

"We are very gratified by the verdicts today. ... Those are extremely serious offenses, and they carry very stiff penalties," said William Weinreb, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, after the verdict was announced. "Of course, we're disappointed that the jurors did not also find that he committed the second-degree murder predicate counts."

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More than 700 people in 20 states were sickened by fungal meningitis and other infections after receiving contaminated medication. The vials contained contaminated preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate, a steroid manufactured by the compounding pharmacy.

Cadden authorized shipping drugs that weren't confirmed as sterile and he used expired ingredients, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. And they said the center didn't comply with guidelines on cleaning, sterilization and other safety regulations. Workers also lied about conditions, prosecutors said.

During the trial, attorney Bruce Singal told the jury: "As horrible as each of these stories is, there is nothing that shows that Mr. Cadden did something that the government can link to the death of that person."

After the verdict, he said: "We don't know what the jury was thinking other than what they said, but to us, the murder counts were the ones that were most important, and those were the ones we were most concerned about."

Glenn Chin, a supervisory pharmacist who ran the so-called clean rooms where drugs were made, has pleaded not guilty in the case.

NECC and several related companies reached a $200 million civil settlement with victims and their families. NECC filed for bankruptcy.

In 2013, federal laws increased federal oversight of compounding pharmacies, which mix special medications for patients and supply them directly to hospitals and doctors.

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