NECC Blames Cleaning Contractor For Deadly Meningitis Outbreak

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Framingham compounding pharmacy company linked to a deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak is blaming its cleaning contractor.

Lawyers for New England Compounding Center sent a letter to UniFirst's "Uniclean" business demanding that it take legal responsibility for the claims made against NECC.

"This demand relates to the limited, once-a-month cleaning services the Company provided to portions of NECC's cleanroom facilities," an SEC filing by UniFirst stated.

UniFirst issued a statement calling the claims "unfounded" and "without merit."

"These services were specified by NECC utilizing NECC's own defined cleansing solutions, and consisted of two UniClean technicians cleaning approximately 1 ½ hours each on a monthly basis," the statement said." UniClean was not in any way responsible for NECC's day-to-day operations, its overall facility cleanliness, or the integrity of the products they produced."

Nationwide, NECC is blamed for 39 deaths and 620 illnesses connected to the outbreak that was linked to its drugs.