18 September 2016 - NICE in the UK has been exploring the idea of charging the pharmaceutical industry for technology assessments.

NICE, just like the NHS that it serves, is being squeezed and being asked to do more, for less. With cuts in funding for NICE a reality, one option is to charge the pharmaceutical industry – and the medical device industry – for technology assessments

The discussion has so far been limited without setting out the fees that would be charged. NICE has now set out what those fees are, and they are significant not only in absolute terms, but also relative to the fees that are charged by other Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies in Australia and Canada. That reflects, in part, the decision by NICE to charge for 100% of the costs, whereas in Canada industry contributes around 40% of the cost.

The fees won’t necessarily be one off either: NICE will charge the company the full cost again if the NICE Guidance Executive decides that the published guidance needs to be updated. On the up side, companies won’t have to pay for appeals, whereas they do have to pay for independent review in Australia.

Read Pharmaceutical Executive article

Read PBAC Cost Recovery fees and charges - frequently asked questions