Bayer's Eylea Gets NICE Recommendation for AMD Indication
The UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued final guidance on 24 July 2013 recommending reimbursement for Bayer's Eylea (aflibercept solution for injection) as an option for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) only if it is used in accordance with the recommendations for ranibizumab.
Clinical commissioning groups in England, the National Health Service (NHS) England and local authorities must comply with the NICE recommendations within three months of the date of publication.
There are an estimated 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the UK each year. Risk factors include increasing age, cigarette smoking (smokers having a 3.6 times greater risk of developing age-related macular degeneration compared with people who have never smoked), and exposure to high levels of UV light. It is also more common in women than men.