The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK, has recommended Novartis' Lucentis (ranibizumab) be approved for use in the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales.
Ranibizumab is used to treat people with visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO).
The positive NICE Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) has recommended ranibizumab as a treatment for the patients suffering from visual impairment due to macular oedema, which results from a blockage of the central retinal vein (Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (CRVO)) and also to those with a blockage to one of the branches of the central vein (Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO)).
Administered by injection into the eye, ranibizumab is the only anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy licensed to treat RVO.
Clinical trials have demonstrated that the treatment with ranibizumab can show significant and sustained improvements in visual acuity, as well as vision related functions.
Royal Liverpool Hospital St Paul's Eye Unit consultant ophthalmologist and vitreo-retinal surgeon Ian Pearce said that the decision by NICE to recommend ranibizumab for the treatment of CRVO and BRVO is great news for people with the mentioned conditions.
"It is an established and well-tolerated treatment which when used to treat RVO can lead to rapid and significant gains in vision," Pearce added.
Final approval will make ranibizumab available patients on the NHS for two of the most common causes of vision loss due to retinal vascular disease in the UK.
