Fake Avastin case goes to trial in China

Court proceedings got underway today in the trial of 11 people accused of manufacturing and selling a counterfeit version of Roche's biologic drug Avastin which caused side effects in patients at a Shanghai eye hospital.

Use of the counterfeit version led to infections and other adverse effects in 61 people at Shanghai No. 1 People’s Hospital out of a total 116 people who were treated with the fake for the eye condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 17 required surgery to help correct the damage, but thankfully none suffered permanent damage to their vision.

Avastin (bevacizumab) is not approved as an AMD treatment and is registered only for colorectal cancer in China, but is widely used off-label to help manage the condition, which is a leading cause of blindness.

The defendants are accused of producing fake bottles of Avastin filled with saline, which placed patients at risk of infections and inflammatory reactions.

A total of 90 bottles were sold to the Shanghai Ruijin-AmMed Cancer Center, a joint venture between Shanghai Ruijin Hospital and AmMed Cancer Center of Hong Kong, and five of these were subsequently passed onto the Shanghai No. 1 People’s Hospital.

The trial is being heard in China's Luwan District People's Court.