Gene therapy for rare eye disease set to be offered on NHS

The BBC recently published an article (4 September 2019) announcing the draft NICE guidance’s recommendation of therapy voretigene neparvovec (Luxturna) to treat inherited retinal dystrophies. With an estimate of an initial 90 people eligible for the treatment in England, this breakthrough therapy could help individuals with a disease that has otherwise gone untreated in the UK.

We asked our Clinical Adviser, Daniel Hardiman-McCartney FCOptom, for his thoughts on this breakthrough treatment: “We welcome the news and funding agreement of this innovative therapy, according to NICE the treatment may become available as soon as January 2020. Reducing visual impairment in children with this rare inherited retinal dystrophy is a significant step forward and encouraging for everyone who supports people effected by sight loss.”