Eye drug costs hit 'people's enjoyment of life'

Richard O' Riordan wants the drug Vabysmo to be more widely used to treat wet AMD

A Guernsey resident believes "people's enjoyment in life" is being sacrificed for the financial cost of using a drug that can treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Richard O' Riordan, 82, who was diagnosed with wet AMD in June, said he believed it was "a no-brainer" to use the drug Vabysmo locally, which could see less frequent eye injections.

AMD is a common condition that affects the middle of people's vision, often first hitting people in their 50s, and can make things such as reading, driving and recognising faces difficult.

The States of Guernsey told the BBC Vabysmo was approved for use in January 2023, but prescribing policy was to opt for the "least expensive treatment".

Macular degeneration is caused by tiny abnormal blood vessels growing into the retina which leak and cause scarring of the macula.

The exact cause is unknown but has been linked to things such as ageing, smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight and a family history of AMD.

Treatments include injections of medicine directly into the eye.

Courses of some drugs include injections every four weeks. Vabysmo can start as that and then, depending on patient progress, longer periods can occur between injections.

Mr O' Riordan does not currently have injections, but said knew he would need them in the future and he wanted health leaders to prioritise Vabysmo.

He said: "The more injections you have, the more chance you have of infection.

"It's saving people's time, consultants' time, nurses' time, and the people that operate the scans."

Theresa Richardson, a specialist ophthalmologist at London's Western Eye Hospital, said she had not been administering "monthly drugs in the UK for at least eight years".

She said it did not "make sense to be using a drug which is every month, no matter the cost when other drugs are available".

She said: "I've been managing with some of my patients to go four months, not treating them at all.

"What if you get admitted to hospital because you have a hip replacement and you can't get to the clinic? Or you get cancer and you can't go so often? Or you have dementia? Or you're travelling from quite a long way away and they're elderly and they can't drive because maybe they've lost vision in one eye and their vision is subpar in the other eye?"

"It's a horrible thing to have an injection in your eye. Most people are really frightened."

Guernsey's Prescribing Support Unit said Vabysmo was "one of a range of suitable treatments", also including aflibercept and ranibizumab.

But it added the policy was to opt for the "least expensive treatment" available, taking into account the "administration costs, dosage, price per dose and commercial arrangements".