03.01.13
NICE approves diabetic eye drug
Lucentis is now approved for use on the NHS, NICE has announced. The drug will be used for diabetic patients with eyesight complications and final guidance is expected within the next month.
Lucentis is the brand name for the drug ranibizumab, developed by Novartis. Used for certain cases of diabetic macular odema (DMO), it stops the build up of leaking fluid in the back of the eye.
Ranibizumab usually costs around £700 per patient per month, and was originally ruled as poor value for money for the health service by NICE, but the manufacturer has now agreed an undisclosed discount for the NHS.
Professor Carole Longson, health technology evaluation centre director at NICE, told the Daily Telegraph: “NICE is pleased to recommend ranibizumab as a treatment option for some people with visual impairment caused by diabetic macular oedema in new draft guidance.
“In November 2011, Nice published guidance which did not recommend the drug as an effective use of NHS resources.
“However, following the submission of a revised patient access scheme, we have conducted a rapid review of the original guidance.
“The manufacturer also included updated analyses showing that ranibizumab could be expected to have a superior relative effect among people with central retinal thickness greater than 400 micrometres.”
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