New NHS Guidance on AMD Treatments
13 June 2025
Following work in 2024 to evaluate current and future treatment pathways, NHS England has published new medical retinal treatment pathway recommendations for wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). Pathways for diabetic macular oedema (DMO) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) will follow.
Published on the NHS Biosimilars Hub (a workspace on NHS Futures) these treatment pathways aim to support NHS commissioners and their system partners in England with commissioning of NICE approved treatments at the right point in the patient pathway. The goal of developing national pathways is to reduce the considerable variation across England and to optimise use of the treatments available.
The pathways were developed, in conjunction with input from a national expert working group, led by Louisa Whickham, National Clinical Director for Eye Care and Luke Nicholson, Director Medical Retinal Services, Moorfields NHS Trust.
The NHS Biosimilars Hub is designed as a collaborative workspace to share guidance, best practice, and strategies to ensure ICBs and providers across England are aligned in the implementation of biosimilars. By accelerating uptake of biosimilars, NHS England estimates around £1bn could be saved in the next five years, supporting systems to achieve financial sustainability and allowing funds to be reinvested into patient care and innovation.
In ophthalmology £498m was spent in 2024/25 on Anti-VEGF medicines which is projected to increase further in 25/26. NHS England states that the introduction of aflibercept 2mg biosimilar presents an opportunity to reduce spend in 2026 and, by looking at the entire anti veg-f pathway, spend in 2026 could be cut by a quarter.
Further information is available on the NHS Biosimilars hub.
To visit the hub, you need access to the NHS Futures Collaboration Platform. This is a secure platform to “connect, share and learn across boundaries”. If you have not joined already, it is important to consider joining as NHS Futures enables you to grow your knowledge and network through peer-to-peer connections and access to resources. When joining the platform, you can select from a broad list of themes, which ones interest you, such as primary care, digital, prevention or knowledge and library services – these are known as workspaces.
If you have an nhs.net, nhs.uk or gov.uk email domain you can register an account on the platform yourself – if you do not have such an email domain you can still gain access by contacting the Futures support team, or you can be invited to join a specific workspace on the platform by the manager of that workspace. Full details of the platform and how to join are here.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has welcomed the new guidance.
LOCSU Clinical Director, Zoe Richmond said “NHS England has provided NHS Commissioners and providers with clear guidance which present an opportunity for cost-savings in eye care provision. Savings from improving the uptake of biosimilars can be reinvested in eye care transformation. Primary care clinicians should ensure they are familiar with the new pathways and potential changes in their local area. LOCs should encourage commissioners to re-invest in eye care”