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, Reuters reported today. The preliminary settlement announced yesterday, which requires court approval, would resolve many claims arising from tainted steroid injections linked to New England Compounding Pharmacy Inc. of Framingham, Mass. 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 the company shipped tainted vials of the steroid to medical facilities throughout the U.S. New England Compounding Pharmacy filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 21, 2012, two months after shutting down as the outbreak began.
