A cancer drug made in Celon Labs in Hyderabad has been flagged by medical authorities in Lebanon and Yemen on Tuesday, March 28, after they found pseudomonas, a dangerous bacteria. Healthcare officials in both countries ran tests on the drug Methotrex, an injectable drug used during chemotherapy, when children began developing adverse reactions after they were administered the drug. An alert issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that the patients who were being administered the contaminated medicine might have weakened immune systems and be more vulnerable to infections.
According to the Times of India, the Union Health Ministry told the Lok Sabha that an alert was issued about four contaminated medicines and one of them was 50 mg vial of Methotrex. The alert sent by WHO claimed that the drug may have reached the markets of Lebanon and Yemen through “informal markets.” The batch MTI2101BAQ that was contaminated, was meant to be sold only in the Indian market but the WHO alert alleged that both countries might have purchased it “outside the regulated supply chain.”
The WHO said that because the drugs were not meant for these countries’ markets, the manufacturer could not guarantee their safety. It further expressed concern that the medicine might have been sold to other countries through the alleged unregulated supply networks and added that it was important to identify and remove the drug from circulation as soon as possible.
The Times of India reported that Celon Labs told WHO that the batch number of the contaminated medicine matched their records but did not have any samples for their testing. The Joint Director for Telangana Drug Control Administration G Ramdhan told the Times of India that they have directed Celon Labs to stop the production of Methotrex immediately.