Sight-saving treatment could help hundreds of elderly patients (From Borehamwood Times)

Sight-saving treatment could help hundreds of elderly patients

8:30am Tuesday 2nd September 2008

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Hundreds of elderly people in west Hertfordshire at risk of going blind could have their eye-sight saved with treatment previously unavailable on the NHS.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the leading causes of sight loss, occurs in two forms – dry (incurable) and wet (treatable).

Until now, treatment for wet AMD was subject to strict funding guidelines but on Wednesday last week, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) recommended that the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) be made available on the NHS.

The news is set to buoy the 213 patients who suffer from wet AMD in west Hertfordshire, and the Primary Care Trust (PCT) estimates a further 360 people in the whole county will be treated with Lucentis in the next year.

AMD is most common in people over 60 years old and wet AMD, which is characterised by new blood vessels beneath the retina, accounts for 10 per cent of cases.

The new NICE guidance recommends that Lucentis, which costs around £1,276 per treatment, is used for wet AMD if a strict criteria is met. Another drug, pegaptanib (Macugen), however, has not been made available.

Andrew Dillon, NICE chief executive, said: “Lucentis is an expensive drug, costing more than £10,000 for each eye treated. But that cost needs to be balanced against the likely cost savings.

“It has been estimated the costs related to sight impairment for patients treated with Lucentis are around £8,000 cheaper than for patients who receive best supportive care over a ten year period. Our guidance means that patients who are suitable for this treatment will have the same access to it, irrespective of where they live.”

A West Hertfordshire PCT spokeswoman said: “The final guidance recommends Lucentis as an option for the treatment of wet AMD if a number of criteria are met by the patient.

“If a patient does not meet all the agreed criteria, the PCT will review their individual circumstances and may approve funding if these circumstances are exceptional.

“We aim for prompt treatment of high priority patients and have been working with our hospital trusts to ensure these processes make things as smooth as possible for our patients.”

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