Barry Cadden, the former president of New England Compounding Center (NECC), was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison in relation to the deaths of 11 Michigan residents who were affected by tainted drugs produced by the compounding pharmacy. This sentencing was a result of involuntary manslaughter charges that Cadden pleaded no contest to in March. The sentence will run concurrently with a 14-1/2 year federal prison term that Cadden is currently serving after being convicted in 2017 on racketeering and fraud charges for misrepresentations made to NECC customers about its drugs.
Federal prosecutors in Boston attempted to convict Cadden of second-degree murder for the mold-tainted steroids produced by NECC that caused a national outbreak leading to 25 deaths. However, Cadden was acquitted of those charges by jurors. Subsequently, Michigan’s attorney general brought state charges against Cadden and Glenn Chin, NECC’s former supervisory pharmacist, who were both convicted of federal fraud charges but cleared at trial of second-degree murder. Cadden’s sentencing in Michigan was linked to the deaths of the 11 Michigan residents specifically.
The compounding pharmacy NECC was accused of producing drugs in unsanitary conditions and selling them to hospitals and clinics across the country. The outbreak caused by the tainted drugs sickened 793 patients and resulted in over 100 deaths, according to federal prosecutors. The families of the 11 victims affected by the tainted drugs will “forever bear the weight of Mr. Cadden’s greed and disregard for basic standards that caused this horrific tragedy,” stated Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Cadden’s sentencing on Friday was credited with the 6-1/2 years he has already spent in custody. His lawyer, Gerald Gleeson, declined to comment further on the case. Charges against Glenn Chin still remain pending in Michigan, as he has pleaded not guilty and is currently serving a 10-1/2 year federal sentence. The case highlights the tragic consequences that can result from the negligence and misconduct of those in the pharmaceutical industry, as seen in the deaths and illnesses caused by NECC’s tainted drugs. The legal proceedings that have taken place aim to hold those responsible for these actions accountable for their role in the devastating outbreak.
