Pakistan bans Roche cancer drug pending probe into patients' blindness

[September 25, 2023]  By Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's drug regulator said on Monday it had temporarily banned the use of a cancer medication distributed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche pending an investigation, as 12 patients went blind after being injected with the drug.

In a statement, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) said the health authorities in Punjab, the most populous province, had launched the investigation into the drug Avastin, which is licensed for use in Pakistan.

Javed Akram, the province's Minister for Specialised Health, said police were questioning two men they believe to be the drug's distributors in the state.

"A high level committee has been constituted to probe the issue. A case has been registered against the distributor and his aide," Akram said.

Repeated calls to Roche Pakistan's spokesman were not answered. On its website, Roche said Avastin was approved in more than 130 countries, including the United States, to treat several types of cancer.

Alam Sher, Punjab's deputy drug controller who filed the police complaint against the distributors, told Reuters that some companies buy Avastin and repackage it in smaller doses to make it more affordable for patients.

The logo of Swiss drugmaker Roche is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland February 1, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

A sharp drop in the value of the local currency against the U.S. dollar has inflated the price of drugs in Pakistan, as the finished product, or the constituents that go into locally made medicines, are imported. Record high inflation has also diminished the purchasing power of many people.

(Reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
 

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