LAHORE: Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has accorded approval to initiate action under Peeda Act against 18 officers of grade 19, 18 and 17 of the Punjab health department in light of findings of an initial inquiry report launched in the wake of Avastin eye injection scam.

The officers punished by the government were serving as drugs controller, deputy drugs controller and drug inspectors in Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Rajanpur, Multan, Vehari districts.

The scam had surfaced in September last year when several diabetic patients were administered the drug in various districts of Punjab and the reports later suggested that the contaminated drug’s reaction had severely affected their eyesight.

The Punjab government had slapped a ban on the eye drug for an indefinite period across the province, besides launching a portal to collect data on the affected patients and provide them with treatment.

At that time, the health authorities had confirmed that eyesight of 68 patients was affected by the drug.

“The chief minister/competent authority, is of the considered opinion that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against the following officers/official under Section 3 read with section 5 of the Peeda Act, 2006 on the charges of inefficiency and misconduct”, reads the notification of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department issued a few days back.

The CM also constituted a high-powered inquiry committee of senior government officers to proceed against the officials.

Of them, Saima Saeed (BS-21) will be the convener of the committee while Babar Aman Babar (BS-20) will assist her as member.According to the charges framed against the then drugs controller of Kasur, five patients were affected owing to Intravitreal Inj in the district and the drugs in question were transported through cargo services to Sharif Medical Complex, Kasur.

The official remained failed to implement Schedule H of PDR, 2007 for transport of thermolabile dispensed Inj. Avastin n (Bevacizumab) in his area of jurisdiction, which was carried out in violation of the Drugs Act, 1976, and rules framed there under, according to the notification.

The officers of Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal, Multan, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Rajanpur, Vehari, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur were also held guilty of charges including misconduct on the same allegations levelled against the Kasur official.

Similarly, the findings of the inquiry report declared that the two drugs inspectors of Allama Iqbal Town and the then deputy drugs controller of Gulberg Town failed to effectively monitor the illegal manufacturing, distribution, and sale of the drug Intravitreal Inj. Avastin (Bevacizumab) in their respective area of jurisdiction

“They had failed to monitor the illegal transportation of Intravitreal Inj. Avastin (Bevacizumab) from District Lahore, their area of jurisdiction”, reads the notification.

The officers had not reported to the licencing authority/chief drugs controller Punjab that the commercial sale of unit doses of intravitreal Inj. Avastin and the dispensing of the drug by M/s Pharmacy Shaukat Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCH&RC), Johar Town, Lahore, was done without seeking approval of the licencing authority.

The government has appointed the section officer of the drugs control of the primary and secondary healthcare department as representative to assist the inquiry committee.

“The inquiry team shall submit report/recommendations to the competent authority within 60 days of the initiation of probe in terms of Section-10 (6) of the Act, ibid” reads the notification.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2024