The Punjab health department on Monday suspended 12 officials over inefficiency in the manufacturing, sale and distribution of an allegedly adulterated eye drug that led to the loss of eyesight of over a dozen diabetic patients, including a brother of senior PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed.
Several diabetic patients in Lahore, Kasur and Jhang districts had been administered Avastin injections to address retinal damage, but the doses led to severe infections, ultimately resulting in the loss of their eyesight.
The diabetic patients who were administered the drug developed a life-threatening disease, endophthalmitis, an inflammation of the inner coats of the eye, and the issue first surfaced when several cases of the drug’s reaction were reported from the Kasur district.
An investigation team of doctors have expressed fears of a surge in the number of affected patients after learning that the drug had been supplied to many trust hospitals, other health facilities and the local market.
A day earlier, the caretaker federal minister for National Health Services (NHS) Dr Nadeem Jan with his counterpart in Punjab, Dr Jamal Nasir, held a press conference to address the matter and said a five-member team had been formed to determine whether the damage to the eyes was caused by the medicine, cold chain management, sterilisation issues or doctor errors.
The injection was also recalled from the market and subsequently banned for two weeks.
In the latest development today, the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department suspended 12 drug inspectors, deputy drug controllers and drug controllers in Lahore, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Kasur, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal and Multan.
The suspended officials were posted in grades 17, 18 and 19. They have been told to immediately report back to the health department.
Manufacturers booked
On Sunday, the Punjab health authorities lodged a criminal case against the manufacturers of the injection.
Deputy Drug Controller Hafiz Alam Sher of the chief drug controller office of Punjab earlier lodged the FIR with the Faisal Town police station under Drug Act, 1976 and Drug Regulatory Authority Pakistan (DRAP) Act, 2012.
He nominated Naveed Abdullah of Kahna and Bilal Rasheed in the case, alleging that they manufactured the ‘controversial drug’ on the premises of a private hospital — Saira Memorial Hospital Faisal Town Lahore — and supplied the same across the province.
A high-powered team of the health department also raided the manufacturing unit at the private hospital, confiscated the drugs and further initiated departmental proceedings when the officials found out that the owners were running the illegal unit in sheer violation of the drug rules and regulations.
The raiding team comprised deputy drug controller (Nishtar Town) Hassan Haider Shah, deputy drug controller (Muridke) Bilal Yasin, drug inspector (Wagha Town) Kamal Sikandar, deputy drug controller (Iqbal Town) Sher Zaman, drug inspector (Samanabad) Rameez Ahmad Khan and drug inspector (Sharaqpur) Amanullah.
According to the FIR, Deputy Drug Controller Hafiz Alam Sher alleged that the raiding team noted that the accused owners of the unit were illegally manufacturing several unregistered drugs including Avastin (1.25mg and 0.05mg). The team sent the report to the secretary of the district quality control, stating the accused persons committed a heinous crime by manufacturing the unregistered drugs in sheer violation of the drug rules which later led to the loss of eyesight of several patients in Punjab.
