More Witnesses Take Stand in Deadly Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Trial

More witnesses took the stand Tuesday morning in the federal trial of an ex-pharmaceutical compounding CEO accused of second degree murder in connection to a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012.

Barry Cadden, former head of the New England Compounding Center, faces 97 felony charges, including 25 counts of second-degree murder, in connection to the outbreak that was traced back tainted steroids created at his Framingham-based company.

Prosecutors started their opening statements Monday morning by showing a slide titled "Murder Victims," and showed the faces of the 25 victims from seven different states whose deaths were traced to the outbreak.

The prosecution then went on describing Cadden as a greedy businessman who put "profits over patients," making millions while dozens of people died.

Nationwide, the CDC says the tainted steroids killed 64 people and sickened at least 700 more.

NECC's supervisory pharmacist and co-found Glenn Chin will face similar charges in a separate trial.

Cadden's attorney, who says his client is not responsible for their deaths, emphasized on Monday that there was human error at NECC that contributed to the outbreak, but it wasn't his client's. Going forward, Cadden's attorney is expected to begin placing blame on Chin.

The trial could take months to complete, since there are more than 170 witnesses scheduled to take the stand.

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