Drug company ‘ bullied doctors to block cheap treatment for sight-loss’
A DRUG company has been accused of trying to block trials aimed at promoting a ‘cheap, safe and effective’ treatment for sight loss on the NHS.
It has ‘ bullied’ experts who have tried to prove that a cancer drug can be used to treat one of the most common forms of blindness, according to the BMJ.
The respected medical journal says Avastin is just as effective at tackling wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as the current treatment, Lucentis.
Avastin is much cheaper and it is estimated that widespread use of the drug would save the NHS around £102million a year.
But the BMJ says the drug company has consistently tried to ‘undermine and divert attention’ from trials to prove Avastin works – even turning to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) for help.
Wet AMD is the most common form of blindness in people over 50. Findings from clinical trials suggest Avastin is safe and effective in treating AMD – but it costs £70 per treatment compared with £740 for an injection of Lucentis.
Novartis, which markets Lucentis in the UK, has allegedly tried to ‘ do everything’ it can to stop trials of the cancer drug. The BMJ obtained emails under a freedom of information request showing that clinicians with ties to Novartis had urged some primary care trusts to pull out of one Avastin trial, while efforts were made to ‘derail’ a second publicly funded UK trial. The trial’s chief investigator, Alex Foss, a consultant ophthalmologist at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, told the BMJ how, during the planning stage, a Novartis representative tried to divert him to Novartis funded work – with the prospect of future funds for personal research projects.
Dr Foss said: ‘ He stated Novartis would do everything to stop the trial and challenge its ethics. He stated the challenge would not come from Novartis itself but from the RNIB.’
Dr Foss said the Novartis representative, whom he met in a pub, had funded an RNIB campaign to get Lucentis made available to patients before approval by the NHS watchdog.
BMJ editor in chief, Dr Fiona Godlee, said the new evidence ‘raises questions about the legal and regulatory positions that have skewed clinical practice, fuelled NHS drug costs, and left doctors confused about what they can and can’t prescribe’.
She said: ‘ Doctors and academics have carried out clinical trials despite threats and intimidation – and doctors leaders should follow suit and not allow themselves to be bullied either.
‘Doctors’ leaders also need to sort out the web of misinformation about drug prescribing that has been generated behind closed doors and is costing the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds a year by scaring doctors from using cheap and effective medicines.’
The RNIB told the BMJ that last year only 0.3 per cent of its total income was from drug companies. A spokesman said: ‘ We stand by our decision to challenge the trial, which was motivated entirely by our aim to protect patients’ right to timely sight-saving treatment.’
A Novartis spokesman said: ‘ Novartis does not tolerate unethical behaviour by its associates in any country, and has a comprehensive compliance programme in place to help ensure that our associates comply with the company’s code of conduct and all applicable laws.
‘Novartis strongly believes that patients have the right to the highest standard of care and that this right should be defended to promote safety and quality.’
‘Threats and intimidation’