DETROIT, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Michigan prosecutors said they will join an investigation into a Massachusetts drug company at the center of a massive fungal meningitis outbreak.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette joined U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz of Massachusetts Monday in announcing their offices are partnering in a criminal investigation into the now-defunct New England Compounding Center of Farmington, Mass.
Prosecutors say tainted methylprednisolone acetate injections allegedly compounded at NECC have sickened 751 people in 20 states, resulting in 64 deaths since the outbreak started last year, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Michigan, 17 people are believed to have died as a result of the injections, Schutte's office said in a release. Another three Michigan residents are thought to have been sickened in the state but died while in Indiana.
"The victims and families affected by this fungal meningitis tragedy deserve answers, and this agreement with U.S. Attorney Ortiz will allow us to coordinate with federal officials and maximize the resources dedicated to this investigation," Schuette said. "This force multiplier will boost our parallel independent investigations, helping both our offices secure justice for victims and their families."
Ortiz echoed those remarks, saying assistance in the investigation will lead to swifter justice for victims and their families.
"Through this coordinated approach, we will strengthen our respective independent federal and state criminal investigations and achieve justice for the 751 individuals and their families who have suffered so much," Ortiz said.
