Testimony: FDA Commissioner says FDA has limited authority over compounding pharmacies to prevent meningitis outbreak

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg was asked if the fungal meningitis outbreak could have been prevented by FDA during a 4-hour hearing Nov. 14 headed by the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee. Her answer was that FDA had limited authority because the New England Compounding Center (NECC), Framingham, Mass., was a ?compounding pharmacy,? which is regulated by the state Board of Pharmacy.