ABPI welcomes NICE decision on Xenical

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's decision to permitRoche's anti-obesity drug Xenical (orlistat) to remain prescribable on the National Health Service in England and Wales (see page 10) after being on the market for over two years "is further proof that time is needed to gather the right scientific evidence," says the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

Stressing its long-argued position that judgements on clinical and cost effectiveness cannot be made properly until there is relevant data to support the recommendation, the ABPI says this must mean the drug has to be used in a large number of people over a period of time.

If decisions are arrived at before the evidence is available, not only are they liable to be seriously flawed, but it means the NICE is effectively duplicating the work of the UK regulatory authority, which is acknowledged as one of the world's best, said ABPI Director General Trevor Jones. In this case, the NICE arrived at the correct decision because there is sufficient evidence, he said, but added: "the concern remains that, in many cases, NICE is jumping the gun and coming up with recommendations that really do not have the right evidence to back them up."