Southampton eye experts have discovered that a cancer drug is just as good at fighting eye disease as a more expensive alternative.

City specialists are part of a pioneering study that is looking to see if cancer drug Avastin can tackle age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as well as the fully licensed drug Lucentis.

Now, 12 months into the project, results from more than 600 patients, including 47 from Southampton, has shown that both drugs have a similar effect when it comes to winning the battle against AMD, the most common cause of blindness in the developed world.

It comes just days after drug company Novartis launched a legal battle against the NHS for using Avastin to treat AMD, instead of its fully licensed and more expensive product, Lucentis.

The firm claims the use of Avastin, which has not been officially approved to treat eye conditions, is putting the safety of patients at risk.

But these latest findings from the trial, in which specialists at Southampton General Hospital and scientists from the University of Southampton took part, suggests that the cheaper drug is just as good.

As reported in the Daily Echo in January, health bosses in Hampshire decided to make the switch from Lucentis to Avastin, to save more than £5m a year.

The study indicated that if the NHS across the UK followed in the footsteps of Hampshire, the health service could save around £84.5m a year by injecting it on a needs only basis and not once every month, which is currently done with Lucentis.

Professor Andrew Lotery, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southampton, said: “This is a very important study which highlights that Avastin has similar effectiveness to Lucentis in the treatment of macular degeneration.

“Avastin is a much cheaper drug and as such if the NHS switched to Avastin cost savings of many millions of pounds would result.”