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Sight-saving drug to be provided on NHSDate: 14/12/2007 09:05:28
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A controversial decision not to provide a potentially sight-saving drug on the NHS has been overturned after the government's health watchdog received 13,000 complaints from patients and campaigners.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has issued new draft guidance recommending that 14 injections of Lucentis per eye should be offered to patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet-AMD).
The decision has been welcomed by the RNIB, whose head of campaigns Steve Winyard said that Nice has given thousands of people "the best Christmas present they could wish for".
Mr Winyard revealed: "26,000 people in the UK develop wet-AMD each year and there are desperate people across the country today being denied drugs that could stop them from going blind.
"These new recommendations mean that thousands could soon have their sight saved."
Nice chief executive Andrew Dillon revealed that the drug's manufacturer has agreed to pay for additional doses in excess of the 14 injections provided by the NHS, a proposal that "represents a good use of NHS resources".
However, Nice is still not recommending a second drug, Macugen, for use on the NHS.
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