tious dust its excava-
tors and dump trucks
produced.
The new compa-
ny's web page pro-
claimed NECC was
devoted to helping
doctors prescribe
drugs that are "no
longer manufactured,
persistently back-
ordered, not com-
mercially available in the dosage form the patient needs." It touted
NECC's "rigid quality control policy," which included "documented,
independent testing for sterility."
Presumably, Doug and his wife, Carla, provided much of the startup
funding, because Carla owned 55% of the company. Mr. Cadden
served as president, chief pharmacist and director of NECC. Lisa,
Barry's wife, was a board member and also worked as a pharmacist.
The couple owned 33%, and Greg the remaining 10%.
While traditional independent pharmacies were beset by chain and
mail-order Rx competition, compounding offered a niche. You needed
only about $200,000 to start up a small compounding pharmacy. The
margins could be amazing. A lot of the business was private pay rather
than third party.
And there was a special opportunity for a bold pharmacist. In tradi-
tional compounding, the doctor calls in an individual Rx, the com-
pounder formulates it and sends it to the physician, or the patient
picks it up. But there was also a market for bulk supplies of high-risk
medications. A great example was unpreserved steroids for intrathecal
4 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 1 6
• DEFIANT "NECC repeatedly disputed FDA's jurisdiction over its facility," says Food and Drug Administration Commissioner
Margaret A. Hamburg, MD.
AP
Photo/Susan
Walsh
