The co-owner and president of a Massachusetts-based pharmacy was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak that affected hundreds of people nationwide.
50-year-old Barry Cadden, co-owner, and president of the now inoperative New England Compounding Center was convicted of racketeering and fraud in connection with the outbreak that caused over 700 infections and 76 deaths, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Washington Post, over 17,000 vials of contaminated steroid were shipped from NECC pharmacy to dozens of facilities around the country at the time. Illnesses and deaths in 2o states were traced back to these contaminated steroids, especially in states like Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee who were affected the most according to AP.
The infection was spread due to negligence and concern for monetary gain. The pharmacy ignored regulations and produced their drugs in dangerously unsanitary conditions. After an inspection of Cadden’s facility, regulators said they found standing water, and mold and bacteria on worker’s gloves– all which were potential contamination sources for steroids produced within NECC’s facility. Prosecutors also say that the pharmacy used expired ingredients and falsified logs to make it look as if the so-called clean rooms were being disinfected, AP reported.
“Barry Cadden put profits over patients,” said Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb for the District of Massachusetts, the Post reported. “He used NECC to perpetrate a massive fraud that harmed hundreds of people.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Cadden’s should receive at least at 35 years because he showed “unconscionable disregard for the lives of the patients.” His defense attorneys, on the other hand, pushed for a maximum sentence of three years. However, U.S District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Massachusetts ordered Cadden to serve 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
On Monday during the court session, about 20 individuals who suffered as a result of contaminated steroids or either lost a loved one because of it, gave a testimony describing what they or a family member had to endure. Among them was Rachelle Shuff from Elkhart, Indiana, and Penny Laperriere from Michigan.
“His actions have caused my life to be shattered and my family so much pain,” Shuff said. She received steroid shots for back pain while trying to recover from serious injuries she received in a car accident, AP reported. Those steroid shots were contaminated and caused Shuff to contract meningitis, which almost killed her five years ago. She continues to suffer from severe, chronic pain and many other symptoms including vomiting, nosebleeds and frequent falls and memory loss. “I will die imprisoned in my body,” she said.
Lapierre was not physically affected by the drugs, but her husband was, AP reported. Laperriere’s husband died after he received a contaminated steroid that was supposed to treat his back pain– but instead, it killed him. “Who gave him the right to play God?” Laperriere said.
As a result of the contaminated steroids, victims were left in pain. Judge Sterns reviewed statements from the victims and throughout all of them, he said he came across the word “pain” repeatedly.
“As head of a company that made drugs that killed and sickened these people, I say with full sincerity that it breaks my heart to read about how painful their deaths were,” Cadden said.
In 2014, Cadden along with 13 others were charged by federal prosecutors in a 131-count indictment because of the way they operated the pharmacy. Prosecutors also accused him of deliberately authorizing shipments before checking if the drugs were sterile or not. Cadden was originally charged with second-degree murder in relation to the outbreak but jurors acquitted him. He will remain fee on bond until he starts his sentence for his current charges on Aug. 7.
