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Drug giants Novartis, Bayer and Roche on Friday lost a bid to stop British doctors from recommending a cheaper drug option for people with an eye disease that causes blindness, the High Court in London ruled. A drug industry group said the decision was “extUK doctors win battle with drug giants over cheaper eye medicine
Drug giants Novartis, Bayer and Roche on Friday lost a bid to stop British doctors from recommending a cheaper drug option for people with an eye disease that causes blindness, the High Court in London ruled. A drug industry group said the decision was “extraordinary« and was bad news for future regulatory cooperation between Britain and the European Union after Britain's exit from the bloc next year. The companies had sought to block doctors from 12 health groups in the north of England from making Roche's cancer therapy Avastin the preferred option for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), even though it is not licensed for this use. Avastin works similarly to Bayer's Eylea and Roche's and Novartis's Lucentis, but those drugs were made specifically for the eye. »Treating clinicians can lawfully choose Avastin for opthalmic use on grounds of cost," according to the ruling. It added that NICE, the UK's drug cost effectiveness agency, had concluded that using Avastin for AMD was safe. Avastin costs around £28 per injection, according to the judgment, while Eylea costs around £816 per injection and Lucentis costs around 551 pounds per injection. The actual prices vary,... Read more