This is from Congressman Griffin's September 10, 2013
Meningitis Tragedy and Compounding Pharmacies
As you may know, there were 2 deaths and 50 confirmed cases of fungal meningitis in our region last fall that were associated with sterile compounded injections from the New England Compounding Center. Approximately 1,400 patients in our region alone were notified that they may have been exposed to fungal meningitis through tainted steroid injections. This is a true public health crisis for our nation.
While I firmly believe that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had the authority they needed to have prevented the fungal meningitis outbreak, I have been working on a bipartisan basis on legislation to define true compounding pharmacies and manufacturers, and clarify FDA authority in an effort to be sure that this type of tragedy doesn’t happen again.
We are very close to reaching a bipartisan agreement on the legislation’s language. Things are now moving quickly, and there is a distinct possibility that the language I have been working on may be incorporated into a larger comprehensive pharmacy bill. That’s fine by me. I learned while in the Virginia legislature that it is not about having your name on the bill – it’s about getting the job done. “Getting the job done” in this case is making sure we have a good final product to fix the sterile compounding issue for patients and families across the United States. Hopefully I will have more news about this subject in the coming weeks.
As always, if you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office by email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
Meningitis Tragedy and Compounding Pharmacies
As you may know, there were 2 deaths and 50 confirmed cases of fungal meningitis in our region last fall that were associated with sterile compounded injections from the New England Compounding Center. Approximately 1,400 patients in our region alone were notified that they may have been exposed to fungal meningitis through tainted steroid injections. This is a true public health crisis for our nation.
While I firmly believe that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had the authority they needed to have prevented the fungal meningitis outbreak, I have been working on a bipartisan basis on legislation to define true compounding pharmacies and manufacturers, and clarify FDA authority in an effort to be sure that this type of tragedy doesn’t happen again.
We are very close to reaching a bipartisan agreement on the legislation’s language. Things are now moving quickly, and there is a distinct possibility that the language I have been working on may be incorporated into a larger comprehensive pharmacy bill. That’s fine by me. I learned while in the Virginia legislature that it is not about having your name on the bill – it’s about getting the job done. “Getting the job done” in this case is making sure we have a good final product to fix the sterile compounding issue for patients and families across the United States. Hopefully I will have more news about this subject in the coming weeks.
As always, if you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office by email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
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