Barry Cadden, the former pharmacist and owner of New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., was convicted Wednesday of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and more than 50 counts of mail fraud for his role in a 2012 outbreak of meningitis that killed 64 people, according to a report from The Boston Globe.
Mr. Cadden was acquitted of second degree murder in relation to charges directly implicating him in 25 deaths related to the outbreak. This acquittal could spare the former pharmacist from a life sentence. Mr. Cadden was also found not guilty on the charge of defrauding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 60 witnesses were called over the nine-week trial. Jury deliberation took approximately 20 hours, according to the report.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged Mr. Cadden skirted industry regulations to boost profits. Additionally, the prosecution alleged the former pharmacist was informed about unsanitary conditions in one of his facility's clean rooms — including the presence of mold and insect infestation — but did nothing to address the issues and did not halt drug compounding at the facility. The defense argued Mr. Cadden was not directly responsible for the contamination of the drugs, according to the Globe.
In December 2014, 14 people were charged in connection with the fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people and sickened more than 680 across multiple states in 2012. The outbreak was related to contaminated vials of the compounded drug called preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate. Two NECC owners — Carla Conigliaro and her husband Douglas Conigliaro — were charged with financial crimes for manipulating funds after the outbreak to evade federal detection. In November, the couple pled guilty and received probation.
While individuals harmed in the outbreak and family members reached a $200 million settlement with NECC and several of its sister companies, the trial of Mr. Cadden was the first criminal trial associated with the outbreak. Sentencing is set for June 21.
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