Fake Avastin Lacked Active Ingredient: Roche

Counterfeit versions of the cancer drug Avastin found in Europe and the United States earlier this month contained salt, starch and a variety of chemicals, but none of the life extending medicine or any other biotech drug, Roche said. The Swiss drugmaker said on Monday that British health regulators sent it a small number of vials of the counterfeit Avastin to it for analysis. Roche analyzed three of the vials and found that they contained none of the injectable cancer medicine's active ingredient or any protein or biologic drug, the company said.