India issues alert to deter use of Roche’s Avastin drug for eyes
By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's federal drugs controller issued an alert on Thursday, asking states to ensure Swiss drugmaker Roche's cancer treatment Avastin was not administered to treat eyes, after its usage hampered vision in 15 patients. Despite being a cancer drug, Avastin is often used by doctors globally for eye ailments even though it does not have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for that purpose. Studies have shown eye injections of Avastin can curb vision loss.