Northern doctors beat pharmaceutical companies in fight to prescribe treatment for vision loss that will save millions

Northeast physicians triumphed over multinational drug companies in a battle to prescribe a drug for blindness.

In a historic battle of the High Court, the NHS has earned the right to use a cheaper drug to fight the biggest cause of age-related vision loss, potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars. books.

A South Tyneside doctor said the money saved could cover hundreds of additional nurses, more than 260 heart transplants a year for the region.

A judge in London dismissed an action brought by Bayer and Novartis against 12 NHS clinical control groups (GCC) in the Northeast, who had decided to use a drug called Avastin to treat some patients with macular degeneration wet (wet AMD). .

The condition, which currently affects tens of thousands of people in the UK, is currently being treated either with Lucentis, marketed by Novartis, or with Eylea, sold by Bayer.

The companies argued that the CCG's decision to use Avastin as a preferred option was illegal.

Justice Whipple said Friday that the groups had adopted the policy because of the "significant price difference" between Avastin and the drugs sold by the companies.

The companies have challenged the policy for a number of reasons – notably that the supply of Avastin to treat patients with wet AMD was illegal under EU law and that Avastin does not have any medical benefits. a marketing authorization for ophthalmic use.

Announcing his decision, the judge rejected all the reasons put forward by the companies and ruled that the policies adopted by the groups were legal.

The decision could mean that patients across the country could now be offered the cheapest drug.

Dr. David Hambleton, CCG's Chief Officer in South Tyneside, speaking on behalf of the 12 CCGs, which also included Newcastle Gateshead, Durham, Northumberland, Sunderland and North Tyneside, said: and the money that it will save – more than 13.5 million pounds a year for the 12 CCGs involved in this litigation alone and hundreds of millions of pounds across the country – can be reinvested in providing the best possible care to our patients.

"Here in the North, it's enough to pay 270 additional nurses or 266 heart transplants each year, and in a financially tense NHS that could change the lives of thousands of our patients.

"Novartis and Bayer have argued at length that the most expensive drugs they prefer to sell are the only ones available to sufferers of this disease, but fortunately the court acknowledged that there was no medical basis for this disease. argument.

"This is great news for patients with this disease and for the NHS at large. It's a common sense victory over commercial interests. "

He asked all NHS Trusts to start using Avastin to treat wet AMD as a less expensive option.

Novartis said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision and "remains of the view that the policy undermines the well-established legal and regulatory framework that exists to protect patient safety and ensure that health professionals can prescribe with confidence ".

In a statement, she said: "It's a bad day for patients, doctors and the NHS. This decision threatens to jeopardize a world-leading system that has been protecting patients for many years by ensuring that drugs are rigorously tested and carefully examined for added value.

The company said it would "explore all available options, including the appeal of the decision, so that patients living with the AMDW can continue to be offered approved drugs that Nice has deemed clinically effective and profitable" .