Five years after three patients died from an overdose of a mislabeled gout drug, the Justice Department has filed federal misdemeanor charges against the compounding pharmacy that made it. The charges against ApotheCure of Dallas were filed at the request of the FDA. Justice maintains FDA tests found some vials shipped to a now-defunct medical center in Oregon contained 640% more colchicine than the label said, while others were subpotent by 62%. Pharmalot points out the case has raised questions about the lax oversight of compounding pharmacies. In a chilling tale of greed and drugs detailed in The New York Times Magazine, pharmacist Robert Courtney, who owned a compounding pharmacy in Kansas City, diluted 98,000 prescriptions, including cancer drugs. Some of the patients died, and Courtney was sentenced to up to 30 years in federal prison. Piece | Justice release | Story