Drug maker
Novartis is taking legal action in Britain to make state-run hospitals use an
eye drug that costs about £700 (US$1,130) per shot instead of a cheaper one
that costs £60.
In a
statement, Novartis said it was calling for a judicial review "as a last
resort" because it believed patient safety was being potentially
compromised.
According
to the UK's health watchdog, Novartis' Lucentis is the only drug recommended to
treat the eye problem macular degeneration in the country's state-run National
Health Service hospitals.
However,
several NHS hospitals have been prescribing the much cheaper Avastin, a cancer
drug made by Genentech Inc., for the same problem even though it has not been
officially approved.
Most
doctors only prescribe drugs approved by the health watchdog, but have the
discretion to use other treatments if they believe they are warranted.
Last year,
four hospitals in southern England decided they would pay for Avastin when it
was prescribed by a doctor.
In a
statement Tuesday, Novartis AG said it was demanding a judicial review to make
the hospitals use Lucentis rather than Avastin.
Novartis
said it was concerned patients and clinicians were being pushed to use an
unlicensed medicine in order to cut costs. Britain's coalition government has
mandated that its National Health Service trim £20 billion from its budget by
2015 as part of a national austerity drive.
"It is
unacceptable to put the safety of patients at risk through the widespread use
of an unlicensed treatment when a licensed medicine is available," the
pharmaceutical company said. Novartis noted there was "emerging
evidence" of safety concerns for using Avastin to treat eye problems.
Patient
groups called for an independent analysis to determine which drug should be
used. "If Avastin is not as safe as Lucentis, no one should be using
it," said Helen Jackman, chief executive of the Macular Disease Society.
"If it is as good, perhaps everyone should be using it."
Jackman
said government ministers should hold an appraisal of whether Avastin was safe
to use in eye diseases. Eye doctors are divided over whether Avastin is as safe
and effective as Lucentis, she said.
Other
critics slammed Novartis for their decision to go to the courts.
"Companies
like Novartis should not be in the position to block moves to more
cost-effective treatments in order to maximize their profits," said John
Harris, of the Institute for Science Ethics and Innovation at the University of
Manchester, in a statement. He said it was legitimate for health providers to
use treatments that were much cheaper than ones that were already licensed.
Related Article:
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Cheaper
switch: Drug giant Novartis is taking legal action to
stop the NHS using eye
disease drug Avastin (left) over its more
expensive version, Lucentis (right)
|
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