By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Lawyers for a former pharmacist charged with 11 counts of second degree murder told the Michigan Supreme Court today that prosecutors have still failed to prove their client performed any act that caused the deaths.
In a six-page filing, the lawyers for Glenn Chin said that even if Glenn Chin's callousness "may have allowed something (the contamination) to occur," prosecutors still must show that Chin did something to cause the deaths.
It wasn't enough to show Chin was a "bad boss," the filing continues, noting that attorneys from the Michigan Attorney General's never even tried to say what Chin actually did that led to the deaths of 11 Michigan patients.
The appeals by Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden to the state's Supreme Court are the latest development in the legal aftermath of the 2012 fungal meningitis that eventually took the lives of more than 100 patients across the country.
Chin was the pharmacist in charge of the clean room where contaminated steroids were prepared before they were shipped to dozens of health care providers.
Chin's lawyer, Kevin S. Gentry, was also critical of prosecutors claim that Chin's actions were comparable to a drunk driver who gets behind the wheel and kills innocent bystanders.
The drunken driver actually did something that caused the deaths, Gentry argued, while Chin did nothing.
In a filing on Feb. 18, the Attorney General's office had argued that Chin did take actions that led to the deaths.
"Chin ordered technicians to forego cleaning and ordered that medicatiom be distributed under the false representation that it had been compounded under proper standards," the 29 page prosecution filing states.
Noting that the contaminated drugs were prepared in Chin's clean room, the prosecution filing concluded, "Chin was the person doling out these instructions."
Chin's lawyers have argued that due to the lack of evidence the charges never should have been approved for presentation to a jury.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Monday, March 28, 2022
Monday, March 21, 2022
FDA Discloses Compounded Drug Recall
Olympia Pharmacy has issued a voluntary nationwide recall of seven compounded products due to being out-of-specification. The voluntary recall is for 11 specific lots of Trimix Formulas F-9, T-105, SB-4, Sermorelin, Sincalide, Hydroxocobalamin, and NAD, compounded injectables to the consumer level.
Risk Statement: Administration of subpotent Hydroxocobalamin in infants, pregnant/breastfeeding women, and elderly populations are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency and there is a reasonable probability they could experience adverse events including muscle weakness, neurological peripheral neuropathic numbness or pain, vision loss, and psychiatric disorders (depression, memory loss). Additionally, injectable compounded products, found to contain more or less drug product than the labeled strength or which reconstitute at a different rate than intended, may result in either too much or too little medication being administered. This could result in lower-than-expected effectiveness of the drug or unintended adverse side effects.
Olympia Pharmacy has not received any reports or concerns from patients relating to the safety of the recalled sterile compounded products, and no patients have reported any adverse events attributed to any of the recalled sterile compounded products.
Although compounded drugs can serve an important medical need for certain patients, they also present a risk to patients. FDA’s compounding program aims to protect patients from unsafe, ineffective and poor quality compounded drugs, while preserving access to lawfully-marketed compounded drugs for patients who have a medical need for them.
Risk Statement: Administration of subpotent Hydroxocobalamin in infants, pregnant/breastfeeding women, and elderly populations are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency and there is a reasonable probability they could experience adverse events including muscle weakness, neurological peripheral neuropathic numbness or pain, vision loss, and psychiatric disorders (depression, memory loss). Additionally, injectable compounded products, found to contain more or less drug product than the labeled strength or which reconstitute at a different rate than intended, may result in either too much or too little medication being administered. This could result in lower-than-expected effectiveness of the drug or unintended adverse side effects.
Olympia Pharmacy has not received any reports or concerns from patients relating to the safety of the recalled sterile compounded products, and no patients have reported any adverse events attributed to any of the recalled sterile compounded products.
Although compounded drugs can serve an important medical need for certain patients, they also present a risk to patients. FDA’s compounding program aims to protect patients from unsafe, ineffective and poor quality compounded drugs, while preserving access to lawfully-marketed compounded drugs for patients who have a medical need for them.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Indiana Victims Seek Appeal From Setbacks
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Indiana victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak are expected to appeal a double setback dealt recently by an Elkhart Superior Court judge.
In a 16-page decision issued in late February Judge Kristin Osterday rejected a motion filed by the victims' attorney to declare that the clinics who injected the patients violated state and federal law.
The judge also granted a motion filed by attorneys for the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center which limits the instructions the chairmen of review panels can give to the panel members. The review panels, under Indiana law, must review malpractice claims before they can go before a jury.
"The court orders the panel chairs to remove legal argument from the evidentiary submissions," the ruling states.
In a letter to the outbreak victims he represents, Douglas Small said he was "surprised and greatly disappointed" by the decision. He noted that on a key issue in the case the judge apparently reversed herself.
Small said he intended to appeal Osterday's decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals. In her decision the judge said the issues raised in the suit would be judged under the terms of a federal law and not other state and federal statutes.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Indiana victims of the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak are expected to appeal a double setback dealt recently by an Elkhart Superior Court judge.
In a 16-page decision issued in late February Judge Kristin Osterday rejected a motion filed by the victims' attorney to declare that the clinics who injected the patients violated state and federal law.
The judge also granted a motion filed by attorneys for the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center which limits the instructions the chairmen of review panels can give to the panel members. The review panels, under Indiana law, must review malpractice claims before they can go before a jury.
"The court orders the panel chairs to remove legal argument from the evidentiary submissions," the ruling states.
In a letter to the outbreak victims he represents, Douglas Small said he was "surprised and greatly disappointed" by the decision. He noted that on a key issue in the case the judge apparently reversed herself.
Small said he intended to appeal Osterday's decision to the Indiana Court of Appeals. In her decision the judge said the issues raised in the suit would be judged under the terms of a federal law and not other state and federal statutes.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Conigliaro, Carter Seek New Trial
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Lawyers for two of the defendants in the criminal probe of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak argued today for a hearing on their plea for a new trial on charges they conspired to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in his Boston, Mass. courtroom the attorneys for Gregory Conigliaro and Sharon Carter argued that repeated testimony at their trial should have been excluded. They cited dozens of trial transcripts referring to a recycling plant, run by Conigliaro, that abutted the New England Compounding Center.
The two were among 14 people indicted following a two year prove of the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that ultimately took the lives of more than 100 patients in more than 20 states.
(The hearing was not included on a daily list of sessions scheduled for the federal court each day.)
Conigliaro was vice president and part owner of NECC, which produced the contaminated drugs triggering the outbreak. Carter was a manager at the Framingham, Mass. company.
The lawyers argued that the testimony about the recycling plant never showed that it was the cause of the contamination and, thus, should have been excluded.
Stearns took the matter under advisement.
Stearns previously acquitted the two of the charges, but they were reinstated by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Lawyers for two of the defendants in the criminal probe of a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak argued today for a hearing on their plea for a new trial on charges they conspired to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Appearing before U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in his Boston, Mass. courtroom the attorneys for Gregory Conigliaro and Sharon Carter argued that repeated testimony at their trial should have been excluded. They cited dozens of trial transcripts referring to a recycling plant, run by Conigliaro, that abutted the New England Compounding Center.
The two were among 14 people indicted following a two year prove of the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that ultimately took the lives of more than 100 patients in more than 20 states.
(The hearing was not included on a daily list of sessions scheduled for the federal court each day.)
Conigliaro was vice president and part owner of NECC, which produced the contaminated drugs triggering the outbreak. Carter was a manager at the Framingham, Mass. company.
The lawyers argued that the testimony about the recycling plant never showed that it was the cause of the contamination and, thus, should have been excluded.
Stearns took the matter under advisement.
Stearns previously acquitted the two of the charges, but they were reinstated by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Friday, February 18, 2022
AG Seeks Denial Of Chin Appeal
Walter F. Roche Jr.
The Michigan Attorney General is asking his state's highest court to deny an appeal filed by a former Massachusetts pharmacist charged with 11 counts of second degree murder.
In a 29-page motion filed this week in the Michigan Supreme Court, Attorney General Dana Nessel said the case against Glenn Chin should now go before a jury.
Her brief is in response to a claim by Chin's lawyers that prosecutors failed to identify any act by Chin that caused the deaths. Without such an act, Chin's lawyers say that the case should not have been bound over for trial.
The prosecution counters by identifying a series of actions by Chin, including ordering employees to falsify records about santitary checks that were supposed to have been performed.
Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden, were indicted in Michigan for their role in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that sickened more than 700 patients, eventually killing more than 100 of them.
Cadden was president of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the fungus riddled drugs. Chin was the supervisor in the clean room where the tainted methylprednisolone acetate was produced.
In the brief filed by the attorney general she cited Chin's pervasive mismanagment of the clean room and concluded that Chin set in motion "a force likely to cause death or great bodily harm."
His actions did, in fact, cause the 11 deaths," the brief states.
Frequently citing the testimony of former NECC employees, the brief states that "Chin ordered technicians to forego cleaning."
The brief details how one contaminated NECC shipment went to the Michigan Pain Center, where the 11 patients were fatally injected.
"There is ample reason to believe that but for Chin's actions these deaths could have been avoided," the filing states.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
The Michigan Attorney General is asking his state's highest court to deny an appeal filed by a former Massachusetts pharmacist charged with 11 counts of second degree murder.
In a 29-page motion filed this week in the Michigan Supreme Court, Attorney General Dana Nessel said the case against Glenn Chin should now go before a jury.
Her brief is in response to a claim by Chin's lawyers that prosecutors failed to identify any act by Chin that caused the deaths. Without such an act, Chin's lawyers say that the case should not have been bound over for trial.
The prosecution counters by identifying a series of actions by Chin, including ordering employees to falsify records about santitary checks that were supposed to have been performed.
Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden, were indicted in Michigan for their role in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that sickened more than 700 patients, eventually killing more than 100 of them.
Cadden was president of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the fungus riddled drugs. Chin was the supervisor in the clean room where the tainted methylprednisolone acetate was produced.
In the brief filed by the attorney general she cited Chin's pervasive mismanagment of the clean room and concluded that Chin set in motion "a force likely to cause death or great bodily harm."
His actions did, in fact, cause the 11 deaths," the brief states.
Frequently citing the testimony of former NECC employees, the brief states that "Chin ordered technicians to forego cleaning."
The brief details how one contaminated NECC shipment went to the Michigan Pain Center, where the 11 patients were fatally injected.
"There is ample reason to believe that but for Chin's actions these deaths could have been avoided," the filing states.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Monday, February 14, 2022
Chin Could Go back to Federal Prison
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
A Michigan judge has opened the door for a transfer to federal prison for one of the defendants charged with 11 counts of second degree murder stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Michigan Judge Michael P. Hatty last week canceled the writ which ordered Glenn Chin to be transferred from a federal prison in Pennsylvania to the Livingston County Jail in Michigan to face the murder charges.
Chin, who already has been convicted of federal charges stemming from the outbreak, must now convince federal officials to return him to federal custody.
He is serving a 10.5 year federal sentence following his conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
Both Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden have indicated that conditions in the federal prison system are preferable to the county system. Chin has also charged that he has been the subject to racial slurs at the Michigan jail.
Officlals of the Michigan Attorney General's office said Hatty's action will have no effect on Chin having to face the Michigan murder charges and it does not mean Chin can simply be released to the public in Michigan.
Judge Hatty canceled the writ that brought Chin here from federal prison, meaning he can be returned there while this case is pending, according to one of the lawyers involved in the case.
Hatty did not set a bond for Chin, which means he cannot be released to the public.
Approval of the Federal Bureau of Prisons would be necessary for Chin to be transferred to a federal facility. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
A Michigan judge has opened the door for a transfer to federal prison for one of the defendants charged with 11 counts of second degree murder stemming from the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Michigan Judge Michael P. Hatty last week canceled the writ which ordered Glenn Chin to be transferred from a federal prison in Pennsylvania to the Livingston County Jail in Michigan to face the murder charges.
Chin, who already has been convicted of federal charges stemming from the outbreak, must now convince federal officials to return him to federal custody.
He is serving a 10.5 year federal sentence following his conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges.
Both Chin and co-defendant Barry Cadden have indicated that conditions in the federal prison system are preferable to the county system. Chin has also charged that he has been the subject to racial slurs at the Michigan jail.
Officlals of the Michigan Attorney General's office said Hatty's action will have no effect on Chin having to face the Michigan murder charges and it does not mean Chin can simply be released to the public in Michigan.
Judge Hatty canceled the writ that brought Chin here from federal prison, meaning he can be returned there while this case is pending, according to one of the lawyers involved in the case.
Hatty did not set a bond for Chin, which means he cannot be released to the public.
Approval of the Federal Bureau of Prisons would be necessary for Chin to be transferred to a federal facility. Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Former NECC VP Repeats New Trial Appeal.
By Walter F. Roche Jr.
The former vice president and part owner of a defunct drug compounding firm has filed yet another appeal for a new trial contending he was unduly prejudiced in the original trial.
The lawyer for Gregory Conigliaro, the former vice president of the New England Compounding Center, charged today that federal prosecutors repeatedly defied rulings by the presiding judge and presented evidence or comments about Conigliaro's involvement in a recycling business located next to the NECC, the company blamed for the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Conigliaro, part owner of NECC, was convicted of a single count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is now asking for a new trial on that charges.
Daniel Rabinowitz, Conigliaro's lawyer, said in a 16-page filing, that the references to the recycling busines, known as Conigliaro Industries, violated U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns order 10 times.
Rabinowitz said the U.S. Attorney's office also violated Stearns decision that prosecutors could not present evidence of Conigliaro's profits from NECC unless support was presented justifying the use of that evidence beforehand.
Those and other actions by prosecutors, Rabinowitz said, supported the motion for Conigliaro to get a new trial.
In a related action, the lawyer for co-defendant and star prosecution witness Robert Ronzio, asked the court to order that his passport be returned. Earlier this week Stearns ruled that Ronzio need not serve any prison time following his conviction on the same conspiracy charge.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
The former vice president and part owner of a defunct drug compounding firm has filed yet another appeal for a new trial contending he was unduly prejudiced in the original trial.
The lawyer for Gregory Conigliaro, the former vice president of the New England Compounding Center, charged today that federal prosecutors repeatedly defied rulings by the presiding judge and presented evidence or comments about Conigliaro's involvement in a recycling business located next to the NECC, the company blamed for the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Conigliaro, part owner of NECC, was convicted of a single count of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is now asking for a new trial on that charges.
Daniel Rabinowitz, Conigliaro's lawyer, said in a 16-page filing, that the references to the recycling busines, known as Conigliaro Industries, violated U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns order 10 times.
Rabinowitz said the U.S. Attorney's office also violated Stearns decision that prosecutors could not present evidence of Conigliaro's profits from NECC unless support was presented justifying the use of that evidence beforehand.
Those and other actions by prosecutors, Rabinowitz said, supported the motion for Conigliaro to get a new trial.
In a related action, the lawyer for co-defendant and star prosecution witness Robert Ronzio, asked the court to order that his passport be returned. Earlier this week Stearns ruled that Ronzio need not serve any prison time following his conviction on the same conspiracy charge.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com
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