Drugs short after meningitis

Elise Amendola / AP

Two men stand guard outside the entrance to Ameridose LLC in Westborough, Mass., earlier this month. The firm has been temporarily shutted and has recalled all of its unexpired drugs because of Food and Drug Administration worries about sterility.

By JoNel Aleccia, NBC News

Fallout from a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis blamed on contaminated pain shots may worsen the nations ongoing drug shortage crisis -- just as health officials were getting a handle on the problem.

Food and Drug Administration officials say theyre taking urgent steps to ramp up production, distribution and even importation of six critical drugs after a sister company to the pharmacy at the heart of the outbreak voluntarily recalled all of its products this week because of concerns about sterility.

FDA is aware that the voluntary shutdown of Ameridose and the recall of Ameridose products may affect supplies of certain life-saving drugs for some health care systems, officials said.

Ameridose LLC, of Westborough, Mass., agreed to a voluntary shutdown and pulled more than 1,800 unexpired drugs this week after FDA inspectors saidthey couldnt guarantee the sterility of the medications.

The firm is co-owned by owners the New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass., whose products are blamed for the growing outbreak of fungal meningitis and joint infections that now have sickened 404 people in 19 states. Twenty-nine people have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Though the recall is necessary to ensure safety, it cant help but affect the supply of critical medications for hospitals that turned to compounding pharmacies as sources, said Erin Fox, director of the Drug Information Service at the University of Utah, which tracks drug shortages.

It just has to be hitting hospitals as another crisis, she said.

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Drugs short after meningitis