France to back Roche cancer drug as cheaper eye treatment

The French government, looking to cut healthcare costs, plans to authorize the use of Roche cancer drug Avastin as an alternative eye disease treatment to the much pricier Lucentis, marketed by both Roche and Novartis. The government said on Monday it had introduced an amendment to its social security budget bill that would allow doctors to use Avastin as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)- a leading cause of blindness among the elderly. The initiator of the measure, Socialist lawmaker Gerard Bapt, argues that encouraging the use of the drug, which costs 30 times less than Lucentis, could bring the state annual savings of at least 200 million euros ($273 million). Roche and Novartis could not immediately be reached for comment.