Health Canada Issues a Statement on Use of Avastin® to treat Wet AMD
December 8, 2011 - In recent months, there have been media reports about a series of serious infections that occurred in the United States after Avastin® (bevacizumab) was injected into the eye. Avastin is a cancer drug which is frequently repackaged into smaller doses and injected to control bleeding associated with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
On December 7, 2011, Health Canada issued a statement to inform Canadian healthcare providers of important new safety information regarding the unauthorized use of AVASTIN® (bevacizumab) when injected into the eye. The statement was developed by Hoffmann-La Roche Limited (Roche), the company which sells the drug in Canada, in consultation with Health Canada.
The statement also included a communication the public, which made the following points:
- AVASTIN was not developed to be injected into the eye. The use of AVASTIN in the eye is not authorized by Health Canada.
- Clusters of cases of bacterial infection and eye inflammation in the eye resulting in blindness or near blindness have been reported in three locations in the United States in patients who were injected in the eye with AVASTIN. The cases appear to be due to contamination after repackaging single-use AVASTIN vials into several syringes.
The statement also includes a detailed listing of the side effects that may occur when AVASTIN is injected into the eye including infection or inflammation of the eye globe, which may lead to permanent blindness.
You can see the full statement on the Health Canada web site (note: This web page loads slowly.)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a formal warning to doctors in August about the Avastin’s risk for infection. You can see more about this story in this FFB news item from October.