As announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency alerted health care professionals of the possible infection risks that may be contracted through the repackaged Avastin intravitreal injections.

According to the FDA, the repackaged intravitreal injections of Avastin, also known as bevacizumab, were causing a “cluster of serious eye infections” throughout the Miami, Fla. vicinity.

The FDA said that the Florida Department of Health notified them that the serious Avastin eye infection that is circulating is the Streptococcus endophthalmitis infection. They claim that these infections occurred in three separate clinics due to the intravitreal injection of repackaged Avastin.

According to the FDA’s report, a pharmacy located in Hollywood, Fla., was found to have been the origination of the injections. Allegedly, “the pharmacy repackaged the Avastin from sterile injectable 100 mg/4 mL, single-use, preservative-free vials into individual 1 mL single use syringes.”

After the injections were repackaged, the pharmacy then sent them off to several different eye clinics for patient treatment. The report, however, maintains that some of these patients who had planned on becoming injected with Avastin to treat prior visual deficits, due to these injections, lost some or all of their remaining vision because of the endophthalmitis.

Health officials from the Florida DOH and the FDA maintained that they would continue an ongoing investigation of the infection. They stated that the infections were related to the pharmacy located in Hollywood, Fla., that sent off the repackaged Avastin injections of the single lot of Avastin that was used.

The FDA maintains that health professionals should be aware that a patient may be put at serious risk for the spread and contraction of microbial infections, such as the Avastin eye infection, if the repackaging of sterile drugs is done without the use of proper sterilization techniques. Improper sterilization techniques can compromise product safety, putting consumers at risk.

In addition, the FDA maintains that health care professionals should ascertain that they are obtaining their products and drugs used for patient treatment from reliable and appropriate sources. Health care professionals should also verify that their drug treatments are being administered properly.

The FDA and the Florida DOH said they would continue this ongoing investigation looking for the root cause of the infection.

Avastin and Off-Label Use

As detailed in the report, Avastin is a drug prescribed for the treatment of different types of cancers. The report also maintains that some physicians prescribe Avastin off-label for treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Avastin, however, has not been approved by the FDA for this kind of treatment. Another drug called Lucentis, also known as a ranibizumab injection, has been approved by the FDA for this condition.

The FDA concludes its announcement by advising physicians and other health care professionals to report any “adverse events, side effects, or product quality problems” in relation to the Avastin eye infection or the repackaged intravitreal injections of Avastin to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting (AERS) program.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Avastin silicone injection class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Avastin lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

Learn More