Health Department attorney John R. Smith says the Board of Pharmacy will have to wait to fine the New England Compounding Center. Photo credit Blake Farmer/WPLN

A state panel is chomping at the bit to punish the compounding pharmacy responsible for an outbreak of fungal meningitis that has killed nine Tennesseans. But the Board of Pharmacy was barred from assessing penalties at a special-called meeting Tuesday.

Barry Cadden – co-founder of the New England Compounding Center – voluntarily surrendered his state license in a negotiated agreement. The deal does permit the state to fine Cadden, but the board of pharmacy’s attorney says that will have to wait. For one, they still don’t know exactly how many tainted vials were shipped to Tennessee.

Board member Joyce McDaniel – the one non-pharmacist on the panel – wanted to go forward anyway.

“I would have thought by now we would have a number of vials because we can do $1,000 per vial and know how many of those vials actually had prescriptions with them. I mean, I’m ready to do the fines today.”

According to the state Department of Health, more than 2,500 injectable steroid doses were shipped to Tennessee, though not all were used. More compounded drugs are also now in question after investigation by federal authorities.

The Tennessee Board of Pharmacy’s attorney says there will eventually be fines and – in his words – they will be “significant.”

FDA Recalls List

The Food and Drug Administration has withdrawn a list of 74 Tennessee hospitals and clinics that may have received tainted drugs. The FDA says the list is incorrect.

The list sent out Monday named nearly two-dozen facilities in Middle Tennessee, including urban and regional hospitals. The FDA said they received “suspect materials” from the same compounding pharmacy that has sickened more than 300 people with fungal meningitis. Now the FDA says there was a reporting glitch and the list is inaccurate.

John R. Smith is an attorney with the state Health Department and says the agency will still notify clinics, only privately.

“We will continue – if we receive notice that vials have been received by additional entities – to notify those entities that they need to remove the product from the shelf and make sure that they’re not available for administration to any patients.”

Tennessee health officials say they expect a new list of affected facilities to be smaller than the original 74.