Did Inexpensive Drug Set Off Reaction In Madhya Pradesh Black Fungus Patients?

The three Madhya Pradesh hospitals stopped using lyophilised amphotericin-b after patients began to vomit and showed a rise in temperature and BP.

More than 120 mucormycosis, or Black Fungus, patients in Madhya Pradesh have suffered adverse reactions in the past few days allegedly after an inexpensive version of a drug was administered at three major hospitals. They showed symptoms like fever, vomiting, and fluctuating blood pressure. These patients were being treated in hospitals of Sagar, Jabalpur, and Indore districts. It is understood that the reactions were caused due to a shift in these hospitals since June 5 from the use of liposomal amphotericin-b to its variant, lyophilised amphotericin-b. Liposomal amphotericin-b, which costs between Rs 3,000 and Rs 7,000 per injection, involves the use of lipids to encapsulate an active drug substance, doctors said. Lyophilisation, on the other hand, means the drug is freeze-dried or dehydrated under low temperatures. Lyophilised amphotericin-b costs only between Rs 300 and Rs 700.