Steroid firm was investigated by Mass. in 2006

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts public health regulators have released a 2006 agreement that state regulators reached with New England Compounding Center, the company at the center of probe into a meningitis outbreak in seven U.S. states.

The consent agreement between the Framingham-based firm and the Board of Registration in Pharmacy settled complaints that had been investigated by the federal Food and Drug Administration concerning the medication that has now been recalled. The 2006 complaints were unrelated to the current recall.

The company, in the January 2006 agreement, agreed to a full inspection of its drug compounding procedures. The agreement was described as "non-disciplinary."

In June 2006, state regulators sent a letter to New England Compounding Center saying it had satisfactorily completed the terms of the consent agreement.

Five deaths have been linked to the rare fungal meningitis.

To learn more about the outbreak, visit the FDA's website.

Cox Media Group