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PATIENTS
CONTINUE TO RISK BLINDNESS AS NICE RECOMMENDS ONLY SINGLE THERAPY IN
LATEST AMD GUIDANCE
Second Appraisal Consultation Document fails to provide choice for
patients and ophthalmologists
December 14 2007,
London
–
Pfizer Limited today expresses concern that the latest NICE appraisal
consultation document (ACD) regarding the use of treatments for wet
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), fails to provide any treatment
choice for patients or physicians, by recommending only one anti-VEGF
therapy for AMD.
NICE’s second ACD again fails to recommend Macugen® (pegaptanib) for
patients affected by wet AMD in England and Wales, in stark contrast to
Scotland where the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved its use.
Macugen works in a different, selective way to the sole recommended
anti-VEGF treatment ranibizumab; like it, Macugen is licensed to treat
all forms of wet AMD,1 and offers the potential to preserve
the sight of those AMD patients for whom ranibizumab is clinically
inappropriate. Without effective treatment for their AMD, these patients
risk losing their sight.
Steve Winyard, Head of Public Policy at the Royal National Institute of
Blind People (RNIB) commented:
‘We welcome NICE's proposed changes as a major way forward in
providing treatment to thousands of people with wet AMD. However, we
would like NICE to reconsider its recommendation not to allow the use of
Macugen on the NHS. Doctors should be able to choose between the
available licensed treatments, based on their clinical judgement of what
is in the best interest of the individual patient. This is the position
in
Scotland
and patients in
England
and
Wales
deserve no less.’
This view was echoed by
Andrew Lotery, Professor of Ophthalmology at the
University
of
Southampton
, who commented:
‘In my opinion, both of the licensed anti-VEGF treatments should
be made available to ophthalmologists. It should be at the discretion of
the physician to decide which anti-VEGF medication is most clinically
appropriate for a given patient.’
There are approximately 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the
UK
each year
2
and AMD is the leading cause of sight-loss for people over the age of 50
in the Western world.
3
Dr David Gillen, Medical Director at Pfizer Limited said:
‘Pfizer is extremely disappointed that this second ACD does not
recommend the use of Macugen. Throughout the appraisal process
Pfizer’s position has been clear – patients and their physicians
should have a choice over which anti-VEGF treatment is appropriate for
individual patients – one treatment does not fit all. Macugen has been
shown to maintain vision in patients with all types of wet AMD and has a
licence to reflect this. It is unacceptable that patients in
England
and
Wales
should still be denied the choices that patients in
Scotland
have.’
[Ed.:
The reason for this decision, as for many others in virtually every
Department of State is the bumbling incompetence of the present Prime
Minister during his ten years as Chancellor. Why else would every
department be tightening its belt trying to make ends meet? Why
else would Brown and his Chancellor be heaping one stealth tax on top of
another and another and another?
Remember,
last week he refused to fund breast cancer and prostate treatments.
Health is
a high profile topic yet Brown really has to make cuts - even for cancer
treatments.
Things
must be bad - and how!]
References:
[1]
Macugen Summary of Product Characteristics
2
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Appraisal
Consultation Document (ranibizumab and pegaptanib for age-related
macular degeneration); 14 July 2007.
3
AMD
Alliance
[Online]. Homepage – Age Related Macular Degeneration (cited 12 June
2007). Available from http://www.amdalliance.org/
(20/12/07)
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