Posted by Michael Wonder on 23 Jan 2017
UK pharma slams new drug evaluation plans
23 January 2017 - ABPI and BIA oppose "arbitrary" proposal to impose £100,000 QALY limit on rare disease therapies.
The trade association for the UK pharmaceutical industry says proposals on the evaluation and funding of new medicines will have a "detrimental effect on patient care".
The proposals - developed by the NICE and NHS England - were unveiled last October and promised a "lighter touch" on appraisals that would allow patients to get access to new drugs offering "exceptional value for money" more quickly.
The fast-track - which would apply to drugs with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £10,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) - came alongside a pledge to automatically fund rare disease therapies up to £100,000 per QALY and a proposed budget cap of £20m to "signal the need for a dialogue with companies to agree special arrangements, to better manage the introduction of new technologies recommended by NICE".
