Media Release from the NZ Branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO)
New Zealand Ophthalmologists call for funding for vision-saving drug
New Zealand Ophthalmologists (eye doctors) have repeated their call for government funding of a drug which treats the
leading cause of blindness.
Ranibizumab (brand-name Lucentis®) can prevent vision loss from wet macular degeneration. It is funded in Australia,
Canada, the US and Britain, but not in New Zealand, said Dr Iain Dunlop, President of the Royal Australian and New
Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), in his address to the New Zealand Branch of RANZCO’s annual meeting in
Christchurch.
Auckland Ophthalmologist, Dr Dianne Sharp, outlined a compelling health economic case for government funding of
Lucentis®.
“Neovascular macular degeneration affects 15,000 New Zealanders and is the leading cause of blindness,” Dr Sharp
explained. “Previous treatments have only been able to limit the severity of vision loss in some patients with this
condition. A number of high-quality international trials have shown that treatment with Lucentis® may not only prevent
vision loss, but actually improve vision in those treated."
Dr Sharp identified the impact on the overall health budget of not funding this vision-saving drug. The cost of legal
blindness in well documented population studies is estimated at $21,000 per person per year. The cost of treatment of
injuries related to falls and the need for residential care more than outweigh the cost of treating macular
degeneration.
“Pharmac has suggested that the already over-burdened public hospital clinics should carry the load of treating these
patients (and pay for the drug), but treatment with Lucentis® can be given in an ophthalmic doctor’s rooms and doesn’t
require attendance at a hospital,” Dr Sharp said.
RANZCO notes that Pharmac did not even ask its ophthalmic specialist subcommittee for an opinion on funding Lucentis.
The New Zealand Ophthalmologists are now requesting that Pharmac’s Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee
formally consult with them so that the evidence can be properly scrutinised.
ENDS