Intravenous route as the only appropriate route for administration of Velcade®(bortezomib)

Johnson and Johnson would like to remind healthcare professionals that the correct procedure for administering Velcade® (bortezomib) 3.5 mg powder for solution for injection is via the intravenous route. Since the first approval of Velcade® in the United States on 13 May 2003, three cases of inadvertent intrathecal administration with fatal outcome have been reported worldwide. Each case can be considered accidental and occurred when an intrathecal oncology chemotherapy was scheduled at the same time as the Velcade® intravenous administration. Some measures have been recommended to reduce the risk of incorrect administration, such as the use of different connectors and clearly labelled syringes for intravenously and intrathecally-administered medicinal products.

 
 
Healthcare professional, Therapeutic Products
Published:

Dear Healthcare Professional Letters

12 Dec 2019

Only abstracts of the Dear Healthcare Professional Letters (DHCPL) are provided on this website. Details of the letters can be found on the MOH Alert System, which is accessible via the Health Professionals Portal (HPP). HPP is a one-stop portal for all healthcare professionals in Singapore. Dentists, medical doctors and pharmacists may access HPP at https://www.hpp.moh.gov.sg/, and follow the procedures below to access the MOH Alert system.

Step 1: Scroll down to the bottom navigation panel of the HPP web page. Under the Healthcare Professionals section, expand the dropdown option for ‘Healthcare Professional Portal’ and select your profession. You will be redirected to the specific HPP web page to log in.

Step 2: Click on the Restricted Content icon on the left panel of the web page and log in via SingPass.

Step 3: Click on the MOH Alert icon under the ‘Applications’ section.

Step 4: Click on the Drug Alert tab to view the DHCPLs.