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Nice recommends new blindness drug

27/08/2008

Thousands of patients suffering from a disease which causes blindness could have their sight saved by a new drug being made available on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended that the drug Lucentis be made available in England, following the lead of Scotland.

Lucentis treats age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the UK.

Nice's announcement represents a U-turn from its decision last year when it claimed patients should wait until they lost sight in one eye before they had access to the drug.

The decision last summer was met with widespread outcry from campaigners and doctors.

The reversal, therefore, has been welcomed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB).

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at RNIB, said: "We've been waiting for this for over two years.

"It is a victory for thousands, bringing overwhelming relief to desperate people across the country.

"Finally the torment faced by elderly people forced to either spend their life savings on private treatment or go blind, is over."