AS THE Conservative government teeters on the brink of collapse, a case being heard in the High Court serves as a timely reminder of what’s at stake for us as a country.

Pharmaceutical firms Novartis and Bayer are determined to force clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to use their pricy patented drugs rather than a cheaper alternative that could save the National Health Service half a billion a year.

The 12 north-east England CCGs who wish to use anti-cancer drug Avastin to treat age-related vision loss are “driven by cost alone,” Novartis’s lawyer Tom de la Mare QC objects.