Cost of sight-saving drug sparks concern

A sight-saving drug is set to cost Dudley Primary Care Trust more than £1.25 million per year – a rise of more than 100 per cent in just 12 months.

Health chiefs fear the cost of Lucentis, a drug used to treat age-related macular degeneration which can cause blindness, will spiral over the million pound mark in the financial year 2009/2010. And they have already expressed concerns about how they will meet the rising costs of the injection-administered treatment, and the increased patient numbers.

Their price prediction follows a change in policy by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) which has led to a marked increase in the number of people in the Dudley borough who qualify to receive the treatment.

The medication is administered through a course of injections which cost more than £400 per jab.

NICE has recently published new guidelines on the use of Lucentis, also known by its medical name Ranibizumab, in the management of age-related macular degeneration.

It means that Primary Care Trusts nationwide will be required to fund the treatment for all patients who meet set clinical criteria.

In view of the new NICE guidelines, and following consultation with Dudley Health Economy Nice Implementation Group (HENIG), a final policy for Dudley was approved last week.

The guidance suggests patients who meet clinical criteria should receive up to 14 injections on the NHS, per affected eye. Any further treatment would need to be funded by the manufacturer.

The guidance relates to individual eyes but treatment can commence in both, provided clinical criteria is met by both eyes.

But at a meeting of the PCT's board members this Thursday, health chiefs are expected to express concerns over how the new guidelines will impact upon the trust financially.

A report into the commissioning of Lucentis, compiled by Dudley PCT's director of strategy and innovation, Sarah Dugan, has revealed it could cost the trust at least £1.25 million in 2009/10 – compared to a predicted £500,000 in 2008/09.

The figures are even higher when based upon NICE's own predictions but Dudley PCT is already in negotiations to agree a price per injection locally.