U.S. FDA seeks stronger authority on eve of meningitis hearings

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON | Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:02pm EST

WASHINGTON Nov 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration called for congressional action to strengthen the agency's authority over compounding pharmacies, as lawmakers prepared for two days of hearings on a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak linked to compounded steroids. In a Tuesday statement issued to Reuters, the U.S. regulator also acknowledged that it had agreed with Massachusetts state officials in 2003 to designate the company now at the heart of the outbreak as a compounding pharmacy exempt from the strict safety standards FDA imposes on drug manufacturers.

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