Wet AMD Treatment Coverage: Latest Developments in Canada

Fantastic news for people in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Yukon who are living with wet AMD: your governments have recently decided to add the wet AMD treatment Lucentis to your health coverage, joining Ontario and Quebec in reimbursing this sight-saving medication.

Saskatchewan and the Yukon are already covering Lucentis in their health plans. For more information about coverage in Saskatchewan, please see:
http://formulary.drugplan.health.gov.sk.ca/FormularyBulletins/Bulletin118Apr2009.pdf

On March 26, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador made a budget announcement that committed the province to reimbursing the treatment in the future. No word yet on when coverage begins, but you can see the government’s website for the announcement.

British Columbia has just added the treatment to its formulary effective June 1. In an unprecedented move, the B.C. government has also decided to reimburse the off-label drug Avastin for the treatment of wet AMD. For more information on Avastin, please see the AMD Alliance International’s webpage on AMD treatment.

CNIB is encouraging Canada’s remaining provinces and territories to reimburse Lucentis as soon as possible. “Treatment should not depend on where you live. Every week of delay means many more Canadians with wet AMD are needlessly going blind,” says Dr. Keith Gordon, Vice President Research and Service Development, CNIB.

Lucentis was approved for use in Canada by Health Canada in 2007 (and approved for reimbursement in Quebec in 2007 and Ontario in 2008). In clinical studies, forty per cent of Lucentis-treated wet AMD patients experienced a significant sustained improvement in vision, while 95 per cent maintained their vision.

For further information, see the CNIB’s Right to Sight webpage.

Want to start your own CNIB fundraising campaign to pay tribute to or celebrate someone in your life? Visit CNIB’s Gifts in Celebration webpage.