29 August 2008
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has finally authorised the use of a drug that could prevent thousands of people from going blind.
Lucentis is effective against one of the most common forms of eye disease, age-related macular degeneration, which often leads to blindness, particularly in elderly people.
Nice announced on August 27 that it had reached an agreement with the manufacturer Novartis to supply the drug, which is injected into the affected eyes.
'We have been waiting for this for two years,' said Steve Winyard, head of campaigns for the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
'Nice's guidance will finally bring an end to a cruel postcode lottery.'
Some primary care trusts are already paying for the drug, which costs £761 per injection.
Nice chief executive Andrew Dillon apologised that the decision had taken so long. 'Lucentis is an expensive drug, costing more than £10,000 for each eye treated,' he said.
'But that cost needs to be balanced against the likely savings. Age-related macular degeneration results in reduced quality of life and increased risks of illness.'
PFaug2008
