Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based drug-making company Celon Lab’s injectable cancer drug was reportedly found containing life-threatening bacteria. The authorities of health departments in Lebanon and Yemen have red-flagged it, a report in the Times of India said.

The authorities ran tests on the drug after they observed adverse effects in children and found it to be contaminated.

Issuing an alert, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the drug may have reached the two countries through informal markets. It said the batch MTI2101BAQ is required to be sold in India and both Lebanon and Yemen may have procured it ‘outside the regulated supply chain’.

The Union Ministry of health has told Lok Sabha that the WHO has issued an alert about the four sub-standard and contaminated products - including Celon Lab’s methotrexate which is a chemotherapy agent and immune system suppressant.

After the red-flag against the local drug-making company, the Telangana government has taken action against Celon Lab’s. The Joint director of Telangana Drug Control Administration G Ramdhan told TOI that they have issued a show-case notice to Celon Labs and ordered them to stop producing the drug.

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