Campaigners appalled by Lucentis decision

Campaigners have attacked the decision by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) to place strict curbs on the use of Lucentis and a total block on the use of Macugen to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in England and Wales.

The ruling came only days after the Scottish Executive gave the go-ahead for both drugs to be available on the NHS (Optician, June 15).

In its preliminary ruling, NICE stipulated that Lucentis should be used for people with predominantly 'classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation' wet AMD and only when both eyes are affected. It advises the eye with best vision receive the drug. The guidance recommended the use of Lucentis for about 20 per cent of patients with wet AMD.