In the hunt for savings on health care, Europe has just provided decisive aid to France. Avastin could be prescribed as part of the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as early as 2015. “A boost”, writes The Parisianwhich encourages the stubbornness of the French in this matter.
For years, ophthalmologists have been using it “under the hood” in AMD even though it is an anti-cancer drug. It represents a serious therapeutic alternative to Lucentis, the only drug authorized in the context of this degenerative disease of the retina. With a strong argument for doctors and social security: the injection of Avastin costs 30 € against 750 € for Lucentis.
But until now, the French authorities, helped by parliamentarians, had come up against the refusal of the Roche laboratory, which manufactures the anti-cancer drug, to request the extension of MA for AMD. “This company, recalls the daily, has, it is true, Novartis as a shareholder, which manufactures Lucentis. »
To circumvent the obstacle, the government pulled out its secret weapon: the RTU. The temporary recommendation for use precisely allows the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) to authorize the prescription of a medicine in an indication other than that initially requested by the laboratory if the therapeutic benefit is proven.
And “Europe has just said ‘yes’ to this French project aimed at imposing this drug against the advice of Roche”, confirms the newspaper. A decree should be published soon authorizing ophthalmologists to prescribe Avastin, but this time, within a fully regulated framework.
