ILUVIEN Reimbursement Guidance to be reviewed by NICE to extend availability

Alimera has announced that NICE will undertake a partial review and appraisal of Technology Assessment 301 by 2019 with the aim of amending their guidance to remove the pseudophakic only lens reimbursement restriction and allow ophthalmologists availability of ILUVIEN for all patients in England and Wales under the current indication. Current guidance dictates that reimbursement of ILUVIEN is only available for patients who have had their natural lens replaced with an artificial one. This would be a significant because probably less than a third of chronic DME patients in England and Wales have an artificial lens, so a change in NICE guidance would allow more patients to benefit from the low-dose corticosteroid intravitreal implant that lasts up to three years.
Dan Myers, Alimera’s chief executive officer said: “We welcome the decision to review the most up to date evidence for ILUVIEN. The current NICE guidance restricting reimbursement to pseudophakic eyes has the unintended consequence of limiting the treatment options available to UK patients with a natural lens. We believe expanded reimbursement of ILUVIEN would help many patients and aid the NHS in managing its resources more effectively.”
Fahd Qhill, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon from The Royal Hallamshire Hospital said: “NICE’s reappraisal of ILUVIEN in phakic eyes is a development that will be welcomed by UK retinal specialists. It will fulfil an unmet clinical need in our phakic patients with chronic diabetic macular edema insufficiently responsive to available therapies. At present our treatment options are restricted in this cohort of patients.