NECC pharmacist convicted for role in deadly meningitis outbreak
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The former home of New England Compounding Center on Waverly Street in Framingham.
The supervisory pharmacist of Framingham lab New England Compounding Center was convicted by a federal jury for his role in a 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis that lead to the death of 64 patients.
Glenn Chin, 49, of Canton, was found guilty of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and introduction of misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud and mislead.
He was, however, acquitted of second-degree murder, according to court documents.
In 2012, more than 750 patients were diagnosed with a fungal infection after receiving injections of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate manufactured by the New England Compounding Center. Of those patients, 64 died across nine states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chin manufactured three lots of the contaminated drugs, compromising 17,000 vials of medication.
“In doing so, Chin ignored NECC’s own drug formulation worksheets and standard operating procedures,” the office said.
Chin’s sterilization was substantially inadequate, and he failed to validate or verify the sterilization process at all, the office said.
He directed the medicine to be shipped to NECC customers nationwide prior to receiving test results confirming their safety and directed pharmacy technicians to mislabel drugs to conceal the practice, the office said.
Under his watch, drugs were also compounded with expired ingredients, directed the forging of cleaning logs and ignored mold and bacteria found in clean rooms.
With other co-conspirators, Chin utilized a technician whose license had been revoked by the state Board of Pharmacy and concealed the technician’s presence from state regulators.
Chin faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution on each count of the racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
Sentencing is scheduled for January.
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