Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust backs drug that 'could save sight of thousands'
Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust says the NHS could save the sight of about 26,000 eye disease sufferers a year and itself an estimated £78m annually by using Avastin.
The trust has been consulted on plans to introduce a sight-saving drug called ranibizumab, commonly known as Lucentis, but says the cheaper alternative should be considered.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the independent body that regulates NHS drug use in the UK, says Lucentis is the best treatment for condition called wet macular degeneration, which causes 26,000 older people to go blind each year.
Patients only become eligible for treatment with Lucentis on the NHS when they have already lost sight in one eye, in a bid to save the sight in the other.
NICE wants to change the rules so people can have it as soon as they are diagnosed.
But experts from the Derbyshire trust claim Avastin could do the same job at a fraction of the cost and have appealed.
Both Avastin and Lucentis can be injected straight into a patient's eye, and work by stopping changes in the blood vessels at the back of the eyeball.
But Avastin is used in the UK as a cancer drug and not licensed to treat sight problems, despite being used against macular degeneration in other parts of the world.
Richard Richards, director of public health for the trust, said: “There are a number of very technical points in our appeal, but Lucentis is a very expensive drug and we have concerns over the clinical trials NICE is basing its evidence on. We think Avastin should be considered.
“A single treatment with Lucentis costs about £700, compared to just £60 for an injection of Avastin.
"Including the cost of running clinics, we estimate Lucentis could cost about £5,000 a year per patient, and Avastin £2,000. So it's a saving of roughly £3,000 per patient.”
When NICE introduces new guidelines, a UK primary care trust is chosen at random to review them, which is how the Derbyshire trust became involved.
The results of the appeal are expected on Monday.
NICE can either review its proposals, or overturn the appeal and bring the new guidelines into force.
Harry Ratner is a former member of Derby's patient and public involvement forum.
He said: “The Derby trust is right. Avastin would be a lot cheaper for the NHS, and I have been campaigning for it to be licensed for use in this way.
“However Lucentis is still needed by lots of people in Derby who are losing their sight, so I hope NICE approves its use.”
Derbyshire Association for the Blind said it hoped visually-impaired were being kept up to date with information on the topic.
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