Loss of Sight Due to Possible Contamination of Ocular Drug-- Hyaluronidase

John Hopkins

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Wydase (hyaluronidase) was manufactured by Wyeth until 2001 and was successfully used in various ocular surgeries to potentiate the effectiveness of anesthetics. Bupivicaine and Lidocaine are reportedly more efficacious when combined with hyaluronidase.

In 2001, Wyeth made the economic decision to stop manufacturing Wydase and subsequent manufacture of hyaluronidase based compounds were taken over by other manufacturers.

When Wyeth discontinued its manufacture of Wydase (hyaluronidase), ophthamologists were so entrenched in its use that many turned to compounding pharmacies to create the appropriate compound for them. Compounding pharmacists are supposed to be skilled in the actual combining of ingredients on premises for specific drug compounds. The FDA maintains jurisdiction over compounding pharmacies to the extent they are prohibited from compounding (combining ingredients) drugs without a patient-specific request from a physician. In addition, the FDA controls many of the ingredients compounding pharmacies use in arriving at their final product.

Fellow blogger, Cal Warriner, has discovered a potential contamination of hyaluronidase; believed to be specially prepared by a compounding pharmacy. In this instance I understand that hyaluronidase in a surgical procedure may have been the cause of the complete loss of sight in a patient.