FDA 'Not Aggressive' Overseeing NECC, Lawmakers Say

House Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday chastised the FDA for not being agggressive enough in policing compounding pharmacies.

The lawmakers said the FDA had many opportunities over a decade to stop the New England Compounding Center, the specialty pharmacy that produced tainted pain injections that have sickened more than 700 people and killed 53 others, the Boston Globe reported.

In the second hearing on the outbreak, the Globe reported, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg reiterated that her agency needs clearer authority to go after compounding pharmacies, which have challenged the FDA’s authority in court since the 1990s.

‘‘I wish we had been more aggressive, and I can assure you that we are being more aggressive now,’’ Hamburg said.

The NECC, which closed last fall, faces more than 100 lawsuits in federal court.

Republicans said the FDA should have closed the NECC based on complaints from doctors, patients, hospitals and state pharmacy regulators. 

‘‘Ten years of warning signs, alarm bells, and flashing red lights were deliberately ignored,’’ said Rep. Tim Murphy, R-PA.  

Democrats agreed the FDA should have been more aggressive, but also supported the agency’s argument that outdated laws and conflicting court decisions have complicated policing efforts.