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Avastin Injections Causing Blindness in 5 More Cases

Posted on Sep 07, 2011

There are reportedly five more patients who have become blind after taking the drug Avastin, which was developed to treat diseases of the eye. Last month, the Veteran Affairs medical center in Los Angeles reported that five patients seen in the center experienced blindness. The Department of Veteran Affairs have launched an investigation into the situation.

Avastin is manufactured by Genentech as a cancer drug but is often used for the treatment of the wet form of macular degeneration due to age-related complications. The drug was also used to treat other types of eye diseases because it a cost-effective treatment, ranging around $50 for an injection.

Using Avastin has saved eye patients as well as Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars each year over another drug Lucentis, a similar drug from Genetech that was developed for eye disease treatment but which costs about $2,000 for each injection.

Avastin is manufactured in a vial which must be split up into several doses and put into a syringe for injection into the eye. Due to the manner in which the drug is handled, there is an increased risk of contamination.

The FDA already issued an alert, reporting that 12 patients located in the Miami, Florida area had been diagnosed with eye infections after Avastin injections. Some of those patients also reportedly lost vision in the treated eye. A Nashville Veterans Affairs hospital has also reported various infections after Avastin treatments became contaminated during injections. There is currently a $4 million lawsuit filed by one family of a man who was left blind and suffering from brain damage after treatment.

White Plains Attorney