CNIB applauds government’s investment in eye health for blind and partially-sighted New Brunswickers

Saint John - CNIB applauds the New Brunswick government’s $300,000 investment in retinal surgery equipment at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Saint John and for adding Lucentis to the provincial drug benefit list.

Lucentis is a groundbreaking treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration, which is an eye condition that causes severe and rapid loss of central vision.

“Until now, a diagnosis of wet AMD would almost certainly lead to significant vision loss or blindness,” said Duncan Williams, CNIB’s executive director for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI. “Lucentis is the only treatment proven not only to arrest it, but to reverse its progression.”

Williams adds, “CNIB thanks the Government of New Brunswick for making treatment by Lucentis available. This decision will prevent vision loss and preserve the vision of so many people – especially seniors – with wet AMD.”

Approved for use in Canada in 2007, Lucentis is the brand name for the drug Ranibizumab which is delivered by injection to the eye every four to six weeks. It is the first clinically proven treatment that has been shown to prevent further vision loss in 95 per cent of people with wet AMD and, in fact, reverse vision loss for 40 per cent of those treated.

The decision to cover Lucentis by the New Brunswick government is forward-thinking. By stopping the progression or reversing vision loss, this treatment will save New Brunswick taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

A recent study, commissioned by the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and CNIB, reported that vision loss costs New Brunswickers over $426.6 million a year. The direct health costs of vision loss are $194.5 million a year, a figure which includes hospitalization and treatment, drugs, vision care and research. Another $232.2 million is attributed to care and rehabilitation, assistive devices, lost productivity and earnings.

Media contact:
Catherine Kieran
CNIB Communications
Cell: 902-497-6970
catherine.kieran@cnib.ca

Additional Resources:

Lucentis Coverage in New Brunswick: Op/Ed (Word format)