MEP HAILS APPROVAL OF SIGHT-SAVING DRUG

10.40.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 27th Aug 2008

The final approval today of an injection by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence means that thousands of people with wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) will now be assured vital sight-saving treatment on the NHS .

Local Euro-MP Liz Lynne, Vice President of the European Parliament's Disability Intergroup, has been approached by constituents who have only been offered treatment after going blind in one eye, even though the drug has been freely available in Scotland and other EU Member States.

Liz previously wrote to the Chief Executive of NICE to protest at the lack of availability of the treatment, known under various names including Lucentis, on the NHS .

Commenting today Liz Lynne MEP said:

"This decision is a victory for common sense; to deny this sight-saving drug on the NHS was to condemn thousands of older people to an avoidable blindness which ends up costing far more in extra care and facilities in the long term.

"The fact that treatment is already funded by the health services in Scotland, France, Germany and elsewhere make the initial England and Wales recommendations look unusually cruel and out of line with many other EU countries."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and destroys the macula - the centre of the retina. Each year some 19,000 to 26,000 people in England and Wales are diagnosed with 'wet' AMD, the more aggressive form of the condition, which causes 90% of blindness from AMD.

NICE has recommended that all patients with should be able to receive 14 treatments of Lucentis which will cost £10,700 from the NHS. If further treatments are needed, the manufacturer Novartis will pay.

While Lucentis and its equivalents are available on the NHS in Scotland and also reimbursed in many other EU countries including France and Germany, some health authorities in England and Wales have only offered it after the patient has gone blind in one eye and others have refused to fund it at all.