21.09.18
NHS wins landmark drug ruling which could save millions of pounds
The NHS has won a landmark legal battle which could save the health service “hundreds of millions a year” after defeating two international pharmaceutical companies.
Novartis and Bayer were trying to stop NHS doctors from prescribing the drug Avastin, a cheaper treatment for a serious eye condition, but a high court judge today rejected their claims.
The case was put against two northern CCGs using an unlicensed drug to treat patients suffering from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Switching to this new drug nationally could save the NHS around £500m a year, but health bosses also say that the High Court judgement will reduce the power of companies to set prices.
Judge Philippa Whipple ruled in favour of CCG’s, finding their policy to be lawful and ordering Bayer and Novartis to pay their costs
She added: “The CCGs have adopted this policy because of the significant difference in price between Avastin and the other two medicines.
“I have dismissed the claimant’s application on all grounds advanced. I find the defendants’ policy to be lawful.”
Drug company Novartis said they were “disappointed” with the ruling as patients were being asked to accept unlicensed treatment in order to save money instead of the licensed alternative, Lucentis or Eylea.
David Hambleton, chief executive of NHS South Tyneside CCG, one of the involved NHS groups, said they welcomed the decision which could be “life-changing” for cash strapped commissioners.
He said: “The drug is undeniably, equally effective, and much less expensive, and the money this will save – in excess of £13.5m per year for the 12 CCGs alone, and hundreds of millions of pounds across the country – can be ploughed straight back into delivering the very best care possible to our patients.
“Novartis and Bayer have argued long and hard for the more expensive drugs they’d rather sell to be the only ones available to people suffering from this condition, but thankfully the court has recognised that there is no medical basis for that argument.
“It is a victory for common sense over commercial interests."
Avastin is only licensed for cancer treatment in the UK, but it is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for treating eyes and is far cheaper than the licensed alternatives.
Avastin cost £28 per injection – while Eylea costs £816 and Lucentis costs £551 – and was ruled as being just as effective by National Health and Care Excellence in January.
AMD is an eye condition which affects more than 600,000 people, with 40,00 new diagnoses of AMD annually and causes people to lose central vision.
Chief executive of NHS Clinical Commissioners, Julie Wood, said she was “delighted by today’s ruling.”
She said: “This has been a culmination of considerable hard work by colleagues locally, supported by NHSCC at a national level since 2015.
“We are really pleased that the northern CCGs remained true to their belief that this was the right thing to do for their patients and populations in spending the NHS pound to best effect, and that it was lawful to do so.”
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Image credit - georgeclerk