Quality of compounded bevacizumab varies

What you see isn't what you get. 

In this study, bevacizumab samples from various U.S. compounding pharmacies showed lower and significantly more variable protein concentrations than bevacizumab acquired directly from the manufacturer, Genentech, although the clinical implications of this are not yet known.

Researchers investigated the microbial culture growth, endotoxin levels and protein concentrations in 21 bevacizumab samples prepared for intravitreal injection from 11 U.S. compounding pharmacies.

No samples showed microbial growth or significantly elevated endotoxin levels. However, 17 of the 21 samples had lower protein concentrations (range 19.2 to 24.5 mg/mL) compared with bevacizumab acquired directly from Genentech (25 mg/mL).   

Also, three of the 10 compounding pharmacies that provided two samples demonstrated significant differences in the protein concentrations of the two samples.