Are UK drug costs set to increase as more products go through NICE HTAs?

Implementation of National Institute for Clinical Excelence guidelinescould lead to higher drug prices in the UK, as manufacturers may well set their UK prices at very high levels in anticipation of restricted National Health Service use of their products in England and Wales after they have undergone NICE Health Technology Appraisals, according to health care consultant Jean Mossman.

She was speaking at a debate in London, UK, last week, organized by the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society, which also heard Trevor Jones, director general of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, comment that, while the NICE's guidelines are getting better, this is at the expense of the industry and of patients' lives. Prescribing guidelines should be about best practice and equity and take into account regional differences, Dr Jones told the meeting, and he stressed that guidelines must not in fact become tramlines which are rigid and hard to change. There is also the danger that they can become a political priority, which will lead to those who are in real need being left out in the cold, he warned.

Industry has high hopes and praise for NSF