BOSTON — Victims of a 2012 meningitis outbreak caused by a now-closed Massachusetts compounding pharmacy will have access to a $200 million compensation fund, following approval Tuesday by a federal bankruptcy judge.
The new fund will be available to compensate creditors and victims who became ill or died as the result of receiving tainted steroid injections from the New England Compounding Center. It is part of a plan to liquidate the assets of the Framingham-based center approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Henry Boroff.
“This is really the end process of the bankruptcy case, barring any appeals,” said David Molton, a New York lawyer representing creditors. “It starts a new phase in which the architecture and the structures we built in order to get money to victims will start their machinery.”
The 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak killed 64 people and sickened over 750. People in 20 states were affected; Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee were the hardest hit. About half developed a rare fungal form of meningitis. The rest suffered joint or spinal infections.
Molton said the judge is expected to finalize the plan in the coming days and victims should begin receiving payments before the end of the year.