Company owned by the people who own that fungus-infected pharmacy sues infected people before they can sue it

Alaunus Pharmaceutical, a Framingham drug wholesaler with the same owners as the shuttered New England Compounding Center, yesterday sued Michigan residents who say they or family members suffered fungal meningitis from a pain reliever sold by New England Compounding Center.

In the lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Boston, Alaunus says it had nothing to do with the spore-laden drugs sold by NECC and that those 49 people should just leave it the hell alone.

The lawsuit seeks a ruling by the court that it had nothing to do with anybody's fungal meningitis:

Alaunus does not compound, market, sell, offer for sale, or distribute methylprednisolone acetate or any other drug or compound which has been identified by the FDA, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or any other regulatory or investigative entity as a potential cause of the fungal meningitis outbreak. ... Despite the lack of any evidence indicating Alaunus's liability, it has been forced at great expense to engage counsel and defend itself in states throughout the country.

The company adds that in the specific case, in which a lawyer for the 49 sent the company a letter that seems to indicate a suit is in the works, "Such an action would be frivolous and advanced in bad faith by Plaintiffs, but would cause defendant significant time and expense to defend."

The company agreed to shut down [2] as part of a state and federal investigation [3].