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British doctors are to rebel against high prices set by pharmaceutical companies for their products by giving patients a cheap but unlicensed drug that prevents blindness, the Guardian has learned.
Unable to afford to treat all those losing their sight with a licensed and extremely expensive drug, Lucentis, some primary care trusts are giving NHS doctors the green light to use tiny shots of a similar drug, Avastin, which is marketed for bowel cancer, but costs a fraction of the price. Avastin is widely used for eye complaints in the United States.
A call from the former health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, for Avastin's manufacturer to put the drug through trials for wet age-related macular degeneration went unheeded. Now the NHS is funding a groundbreaking trial which will compare Avastin directly with Lucentis. Both drugs are manufactured by Genentech.
The moves represent the first real challenge in this country to high prices set by drug companies. There is growing unease at the cost of new drugs and high prices have led to the banning or rationing of some medicines in the NHS by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice). The companies say they need billions of dollars in sales to recoup their research and development costs, but critics accuse them of profiteering.
More at The Guardian
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