Drug Lucentis to save eyesight of thousands in the UK

The eyesight of thousands of people in the UK will be saved with a new drug available under the National Health Service.

The drug Lucentis has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50.

A campaign led by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) on behalf of those with AMD has prompted a turn around on draft guidance published last year by NICE which decreed that patients would need to lose sight in one eye before the other could be treated.

AMD destroys the central region of the retina, the macula, leading to progressive loss of sight and manifests itself in two forms - wet and dry - the dry form is far more common but wet AMD is the most aggressive and accounts for around 90% of blindness caused by the condition.

The ruling applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the drug is already approved in Scotland.

Lucentis is now recommended as long as there is evidence of recent progression of the disease and no permanent structural damage to the central fove - the centre most part of the macula.

The NHS will only pay for 14 injections and the cost of any more will be met by the manufacturer Novartis.

This "dose-capping" scheme was recommended by Novartis and has been agreed on with the Department of Health and Novartis will reimburse the NHS for any additional jabs needed.

A single Lucentis injection casts £761.20 and the cost over two years is around £10,700, eight injections in the first year and six injections in the second year.

Approximately 25 to 30 million people worldwide are living with AMD, which is a major burden on healthcare systems.

Lucentis is available in Australia under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).