NICE rejects Lucentis for diabetic oedema | InPharm

NICE has not recommended Lucentis for diabetic oedema after ‘faulty analysis’ from manufacturer Novartis was found not to prove the drug’s cost-effectiveness.

Lucentis (ranibizumab) is given via injection into the eye and works by inhibiting the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) that can potentially decrease the oedema and limit visual loss or improve vision.

Novartis did not account for the need to treat both eyes in a significant proportion of people with diabetic macular oedema (DMO), failing to take into account the practicalities of the disease.

NICE’s appraisal committee also felt that the economic analysis provided by Novartis “poorly reflected clinical practice” and this “faulty analysis” meant the Institute could not accurately assess the drug’s cost effectiveness.

Lucentis injections cost £742.17 a time and need to be administered monthly until a patient achieves maximum vision.

Sir Andrew Dillon, chief executive at NICE, said: “Patients with diabetic macular oedema currently receive laser photocoagulation, a treatment proven to have long-term benefits.

“Although ranibizumab has been shown to be an effective treatment for DMO, and NICE already recommends it for wet age-related macular degeneration, the appraisal committee was unable to recommend the drug for this condition because the economic analysis provided by [Novartis] did not reflect clinical practice in a number of respects.”

Dillon also said that Novartis “substantially overestimated” the life expectancy of people with diabetes and underestimated the amount of Lucentis that people with DMO would have to take in order to achieve the benefits assumed in the analysis.

Ben Adams 

via inpharm.com

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