New options for treatment of wet AMD

The options for treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have widened for clinicians and patients.

This is due to the recent High Court ruling that the drug Avastin can be used to treat the condition despite it not being licensed for this use.

The Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning has said that a change like this will have implications across the wet AMD pathway, affecting patients from the referral stage, to active treatment and monitoring.

The council recommends that NHS Commissioners and Trusts should prepare for this by planning how patients are able to make informed choices and maintaining supply and availability of all National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended drugs for the treatment of the condition.