Section 7 of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Constitution and Functions) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Functions) Regulations 2013 requires integrated care boards, NHS England and, with respect to their public health functions, local authorities to comply with the recommendations in this evaluation within 3 months of its date of publication.
The Welsh ministers have issued directions to the NHS in Wales on implementing NICE technology appraisal guidance when the drug or treatment, or other technology, is approved for use with managed access. When a NICE technology appraisal guidance recommends the use of a drug or treatment, or other technology, for use with managed access, the NHS in Wales must usually provide funding and resources for it within 2 months of the first publication of the final draft guidance or agreement of a managed access agreement by the NHS in Wales, whichever is the later.
The Department of Health and the manufacturer have agreed that ranibizumab will be available to the NHS with a patient access scheme (as revised in 2012) which makes ranibizumab available at a reduced cost to the NHS. The size of the discount is commercial in confidence. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to communicate details of the discount to the relevant NHS organisations. Any enquiries from NHS organisations about the patient access scheme should be directed to Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK by emailing commercial.team@novartis.com or calling 01276 698717.
When NICE recommends a treatment as an option for use with managed access, NHS England will make it available according to the conditions in the managed access agreement. This means that, if a patient has age-related macular degeneration and the healthcare professional responsible for their care thinks that ranibizumab or pegaptanib is the right treatment, it should be available for use, in line with NICE's recommendations and the criteria in the managed access agreement.