A committee in the state House of Representatives approved a bill Friday, March 15, that would toughen licensure requirements for out-of-state pharmacies that ship medications to Minnesota.
The bill responds to last year's outbreak of fungal meningitis, which was linked to contaminated medications shipped to states across the country, including Minnesota, from a compounding pharmacy in Massachussets.
Under the legislation, out-of-state pharmacies would be required to submit proof to state regulators that any problems found in an inspection report during the past two years had been addressed.
The bill also would require out-of-state pharmacies that hadn't been subject to an independent inspection in the past two years to pay for a review from inspectors selected by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
The House Health and Human Services Policy Committee passed the bill on a voice vote without significant opposition.
The fungal meningitis outbreak has sickened 722 people in 20 states, including 12 people in Minnesota. Fifty deaths have been connected to the outbreak.
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