More bad news but at least someone is upsetWednesday April 10, 12:39 pm Eastern Time
Reuters Business
UK follows U.S. in shunning blindness therapy
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Britain's cost-effectiveness drug watchdog on Wednesday provisionally rejected a new anti-blindness therapy, to the anger of patient groups.
The decision by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence not to recommend reimbursement of Visudyne on the state health service follows a similar move by the U.S. government's Medicare and Medicaid health-insurance schemes earlier this month.
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The treatment, which is marketed by Switzerland's Novartis AG (NOVZn.VX) and QLT Inc (Toronto:QLT.TO - news) of Canada, is designed to fight age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The Royal National Institute for the Blind said up to 20,000 people in the UK could be left to go blind over the next few years as a result of the NICE move.
AMD affects about 21,000 people every year in the UK. The minority form of AMD, called wet AMD, accounts for most of the blindness caused by this condition.
The charity spoke out after it saw a statement on NICE's website stating that NICE's appraisals committee had provisionally decided that the therapy cannot be recommended for routine use.
Visudyne, a photodynamic therapy, aims to stop progressive loss of vision. A light-sensitive dye is given by intravenous infusion. A laser then activates the dye to destroy damaged eye cells.
``If these preliminary recommendations are confirmed, wealthy people in the UK with wet AMD will be able to buy their sight through private treatment, while those with lower incomes will go blind,'' said Steve Winyard, head of public policy at the RNIB.
Novartis said it was disappointed by NICE's preliminary recommendations.