Congressman Ed Markey (D-Malden), in Framingham Monday to celebrate the opening of a biomedical manufacturing plant, spoke a few minutes to Framingham Patch about the deadly meningitis outbreak, linked to tainted steroids produced at New England Compounding Center in Framingham.

The Centers for Disease Control now says almost 300 people have been infected with fungal meningitis in 16 states, including 23 deaths.

Markey, who represents Melrose, is the senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

He said NECC fell into a "blackhole" between federal and state regulators and became a "compounding manufacturer" and not a compounding pharmacy.