Gujarat FDCA puts sale of batch of Avastin injections on hold

Pending tests of a drug which was given through injection to 15 patients at C H Nagri hospital following which they lost vision partially, Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) today ordered that sale of the particular batch of injections be put on hold.
"We have asked the Switzerland-based drug manufacturing company H Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and importer company in Mumbai Roche product (I) to put on hold the sale of Avastin injections of that batch number," Gujarat FDCA chairman H G Koshia said.
"We have not banned the drug yet but as the hospital authorities suspect that the problem came up after they were given Avastin injections, as a precautionary measure we have asked the company not to sell this batch of the drug in the market," he said.

Koshia said authorities had collected two-three samples of the same batch for testing. "As it is an injection, it will take 10 to 12 days to find out if the drug was contaminated."
Meanwhile, some of the 15 patients who complained of partial vision loss yesterday were operated upon by doctors late last night and today.
These patients were undergoing treatment for various eye ailments at the civic-run C H Nagri Eye Hospital here.
After the complaints, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation had ordered check-up of all the patients. Commissioner D Thara said retinas of these patients had not got damaged.

"This is too early to say if these patients have lost eyesight. A particular injection caused inflation on the outer part of eye only. Doctors did sonography and found that retina is not infected," said Thara.