NICE to simplify how medicines are selected for evaluation

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has proposed simplifying how medicines and medical devices are selected for evaluation. 

As part a review of the methods and processes NICE uses to produce guidance on medicines, medical devices and diagnostics, the institute has launched a public consultation on suggestions for changing how it selects the topics it will develop guidance on.

The proposals clarify the criteria that would see a device or diagnostic selected for NICE guidance development. In particular, these include where the costs and impacts are expected to be significantly cost incurring or cost saving or there is uncertainty about the likely cost or the impact it would have on the healthcare system.

For medicines, the proposals confirm the commitment in the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access that NICE will appraise all new active substances and significant licence extensions for existing medicines, except where there is a clear rationale not to do so.

Similarly, all new or significantly modified interventional procedures that will protect patient safety will be selected if they are available to the UK National Health Service (NHS), independent sector or about to be used outside of formal research.

This approach would move away from the 15 criteria currently used to select topics for evaluation by NICE’s Centre for Health Technology Evaluation and provide a clearer and simpler process.

Helen Knight, programme director for Technology Appraisals and Highly Specialised Technologies at NICE, said: “Topic selection plays an important role in the development of NICE guidance and is designed to ensure that the guidance we produce is on topics that support healthcare professionals and others to provide care of the best possible quality. These proposals will ensure we can continue to meet these ambitions at a time of unprecedented change in the healthcare system.”

Other key proposals for medicine evaluation updates include:

• Replacing the three existing topic selection panels with a single topic selection panel – the Topic Selection Oversight Panel (TSOP) to oversee the application of the identification, selection and routing criteria. Membership of the panel will include lay members for the first time.

• Removing the need to develop and consult on a scope to inform selection and routing decisions before a topic is selected for the TA or HST programmes

• Introducing a formal process for stakeholders to challenge all topic selection routing decisions

• The consultation on the proposals runs until 19 November. A public consultation on the case for change to NICE’s methods for health technology assessment will begin in November 2020. This will be followed by a separate public consultation on the case for change to its processes in February and March 2021. NICE anticipates publishing the final updated methods and processes in September 2021.