Blindness injection fast-tracked in first post-brexit process

WATCHDOGS have approved a new injection for one of the most aggressive causes of blindness.

Up to 400,000 people suffering from wet macular degeneration (AMD) or diabetic macular oedema (DMO) could benefit from the treatment, which could spare them from monthly treatments.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said being out of the EU could help patients gain earlier access to treatments.

The decision by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the first result from its international collaboration with regulators outside the EU after Brexit.

Faricimab (Vabysmo), an eye injection made by Roche Products, is a bispecific antibody designed to block two different pathways that can cause blindness in patients with wet AMD and DMO. As well as improving vision and reducing loss of sight, it can be given quarterly, while most current treatments have to be given as often as once a month, experts said.

Mr Javid said: “Now we have left the EU, the UK is free to team up with other world-leading regulators to speed up the approval process for medicines, while maintaining the highest safety standards – and this is a great example.”