Sanders Welcomes NICE U-Turn on Wet Eye Macular Degeneration Treatments

Adrian Sanders, MP for Torbay, has welcomed new guidance issued today by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) regarding anti-VEGF drugs.

The guidance means that all patients in England and Wales with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) could soon get sight-saving drug Lucentis on the NHS.

Wet AMD, is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and can lead to blindness in as little as three months if it is not treated. Each year 26,000 people across the UK are diagnosed with the condition

Adrian attended the launch of the Royal Institute for the Blind's campaign to make these sight-saving treatments available on the NHS. Torbay constituent Jack Tagg, took the campaign to a national level where his story was covered by a number of national newspapers .   

Prior to this new guidance, if someone developed wet AMD, they were most likely to be told they would have to lose your sight in one eye before receiving treatment on the NHS, and in some areas an individual cannot be treated unless they can pay themselves.

Adrian commented

“This is excellent news, over the last year I have been in correspondence with a number of constituents who, if Torbay PCT adopts NICE’s guidance, will get the treatment they have been battling to receive”