UK government action needed to turn a lose/lose/lose into a win/win/win on innovative medicine says BIA

NICE and NHS England decision puts life sciences Industrial Strategy,  patient access to rare disease medicine and the Union at risk.

Commenting on NICE’s decision today to change the arrangements for evaluating and funding drugs and other healthcare technologies assessed through NICE’s technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programme, BIA CEO Steve Bates said:

“Today’s decision by NICE and NHS England to implement this new policy in just two and half weeks’ time sends an immediate, stark, negative signal to the global life science investors and companies that the UK needs to attract in the Brexit era. The changes announced will limit patient access to novel, breakthrough potentially life-saving medicines, especially for rare diseases –an area of research the UK government has prioritised in the 100,000 Genome project. 

“In addition the proposals will damage the United Kingdom.  They will build a Hadrian’s Wall for English patients who will no longer be able to access innovative new treatments that will continue to be available in Scotland. 

“The UK government now needs to act fast to turn this lose/ lose/lose situation for rare disease NHS patients, the UK life science sector and the Union into a win/win/win by seeing the big  picture and reconsidering this initial NICE & NHS England policy in the context of the UK’s upcoming life science strategy.”

Background

NICE and NHS England have today released their response to their consultation on changes to the arrangements for evaluating and funding medicines which could damage the progress of the upcoming Industrial Strategy and impact on patient access to medicines post Brexit. Life sciences companies have been working with government to put together an industrial strategy to ensure the life sciences sector in the UK can continue to thrive following Brexit. However the NICE/NHS England decision now leaves these companies considering whether they will continue to engage with the process as they do not believe that the government is supporting the industry to bring treatments to the patients that would benefit from them. 

The changes, which will come into force from April 1 this year, will see the introduction of a £100,000 Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) threshold for medicines evaluated via NICE’s Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) programme, which assesses treatments for very rare conditions. This threshold will effectively stop the flow of new medicines reaching patients with very rare and complex diseases.Many treatments for very rare conditions that are currently funded by NHS England have costs per QALY in excess of £500,000 including the three medicines that have been approved by NICE’s HST process to date. It is widely acknowledged in the industry that QALY thresholds are not appropriate for evaluating medicines for very rare diseases, due to the small patient populations, often limited data and uncertainty in the figures produced. 

You can read the full announcement from NICE and NHS England in the NICE board papers released today – click here

Notes to Editors
Contact Communications Manager Ed Sexton: [email protected] 0207 630 2196

About the BIA

Established over 25 years ago at the infancy of biotechnology, the BioIndustry Association (BIA) is the trade association for innovative enterprises involved in UK bioscience. Members include emerging and more established bioscience companies; pharmaceutical companies; academic, research and philanthropic organisations; and service providers to the bioscience sector. The BIA represents the interests of its members to a broad section of stakeholders, from government and regulators to patient groups and the media. Our goal is to secure the UK's position as a global hub and as the best location for innovative research and commercialisation, enabling our world-leading research base to deliver healthcare solutions that can truly make a difference to people's lives.For further information, please go to www.bioindustry.org and twitter.com/BIA_UK

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