Five blinded by Avastin at VA hospital

Tainted doses of the drug Avastin have blinded five more patients at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Los Angeles. The new cases, which occurred in August, were reported Thursday.

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - VA doctors have been using Avastin, which is a cancer medication, to treat macular degeneration, a common disease for older patients--which causes blindness. The drug is a cheaper alternative to the Lucentis, which is a medication designed for treating the eye. However, Lucentis costs $2,000 per dose while Avastin costs only $50. 

Avastin has been linked to two prior series of infections.  The first, affected four people in Nashville, Tennessee and caused one to go blind and suffer brain damage. That victim's family has filed a $4 million lawsuit. The second is a dozen cases of infection reported in Miami, although no patients went blind in that incident.

The two incidents prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to issue a warning regarding the use of Avastin. However, the warning did not ask doctors to stop using the drug, only that they should be careful of contamination, which can cause infections.  The warning stated,

"Health care professionals should ensure that drug products are obtained from appropriate, reliable sources and properly administered."

The Florida infections have been traced back to a pharmacy located in Hollywood, Florida. The pharmacy repackaged the drug from vials into single-use syringes and a bacterial contamination resulted during the transfer. The pharmacy then distributed the syringes to area clinics. With Avastin and other drugs that are repackaged from vials by pharmacies, this is a concern, although pharmacies regularly take great precautions to prevent contamination.

The source of the Los Angeles contamination has not yet been identified. 

The FDA currently has another drug under consideration to treat macular degeneration, but they have so far delayed approval so they can complete their review. The new drug, Eyela, is injected less frequently than Lucentis and has already been recommended for approval, 10-0 by an independent panel of advisers who agree that the new drug is both safe and effective. Eyela is expected to do well once approved because of the fewer injections it requires.

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