In Ahmedabad, amid blame by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and authorities at CH Nagri Municipal Eye Hospital that 15 of its patients lost their vision due to a faulty batch of the injected drug, the manufacturing company has categorically stated that the medicine is only to be used for cancer treatment and “adaptation of the product for use in this way is considered ‘off label'”. However, medical superintendent of the civic body-run eye hospital and doctors associated with the Ahmedabad Ophthalmological Society (AOS) state the drug can be used for retinopathology.
As per sources, Quizzed about the use of a cancer medicine to treat an eye ailment, medical superintendent of Nagri Eye Hospital on Saturday, “It is true that basically Avastin is a cancer drug but it has been used for retinopathology. The ‘off label’ usage of the drug — for treatment of the retina — is popular globally because it is effective medically and financially. Moreover, its usage for eye treatment has also been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in Western countries.”
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has not issued any notice to drug manufacturing company in this case. All 15 patients had come to hospital for pain in one eye were give dose of Avastin injection and sent with bandaid on one eye. They were asked to remove bandaid after 5 hours and apply eye drops but after 5 hours they found having lost their vision.
