Posted by Michael Wonder on 01 Nov 2017
Drug giants threaten NHS with legal action over cheaper drug that could save 84 million pounds a year
1 November 2017 - Using cheaper version of drug effective against blindness is preferable to cost-cutting measures such as rationing, say NHS commissioners.
Two multinational drug companies are threatening legal action to prevent patients being offered a cheap version of an effective drug against blindness which could save the NHS millions of pounds.
Twelve NHS clinical commissioning groups in the north-east of England say that saving money by buying a safe and effective – but 10 times cheaper – version of the licensed drug for wet macular degeneration is far preferable to cutting costs in other ways, for instance by rationing fertility treatment or cataract operations.
