NICE says yes to Lucentis

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has reversed its controversial decision to deny thousands of patients in England and Wales access to Lucentis to treat wet age-related macular denegation.

In its draft guidance published in December, NICE recommended that the NHS should pay for a maximum of 14 injections of Lucentis per eye, which should result in stable vision for most patients and improved vision for around a quarter of patients.

It also recommended that the manufacturer should pay if any further doses were needed. A statement from NICE added that any dose-capping scheme would need to be agreed by both the manufacturer and the Department of Health.