Are compounding pharmacies safer now? By Lisa Schencker | December 17, 2014 Some say yes they are: Some say the federal legislation didn't go far enough. Will we see federal legislation introduced giving the FDA more teeth and clearly defining a drug manufacturers vs. traditional compounders?

he indictment of 14 people Wednesday—including two pharmacists on charges of second-degree murder—was the latest in a string of actions taken in response to a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts compounder.

More than 750 people in 20 states fell ill and 64 people died as a result of the outbreak, which was blamed on a tainted steroid produced by the New England Compounding Center. Many saw the tragedy as a call to action, and since then, the government has taken a number of steps to make such compounders safer, experts say. more