macular degeneration

NHS Funding of Lucentis ®/Avastin ®



NHS funding for anti VEGF therapy with Lucentis is now settled following recent NICE guidance. The current NICE criteria allows most wet amd patients access to NHS funding for this remarkable treatment.  There is as yet no local or national guidance on NHS provision for Avastin anti VEGF therapy. Trials underway in the USA comparing Avastin head to head with Lucentis may one day allow the use of Avastin in the NHS for wet AMD and a wide range of other retinal conditions.

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Present criteria for NHS funding for Lucentis anti-vegf therapy for AMD are as follows:

  • Condition must be defined as age related wet macular degeneration
  • Active disease must be evident
  • Vision must record between 6/12 to 6/96 on standard chart testing (20/40 to 20/320)
  • There must be no permanent structural damage at the centre of the macula.

Patients who suffer from conditions that produce swelling of the macula from other conditions that are related to wet AMD such as;

  • Myopic wet macular degeneration
  • Inflammatory wet macular degeneration
  • Diabetic eye disease
  • Conditions caused by clot formation of the retinal veins

still remain outwith current NICE guidance. In such situations a special individual application for funding must be approved by the primary care trust in order for treatment with either Lucentis or Avastin to be provided on NHS funding.

 

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