PhRMA welcomes critical AEI study of UK's NICE

The US Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has welcomed discussion by a Washington DC-based think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute, of a PhRMA-funded study of the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

The report, titled: the Use of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Medicines in the British National Health Service (NHS), by Heinz Redwood, shows how government decisions based on cost-effectiveness data have denied thousands of patients with Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, leukemia, multiple sclerosis and other diseases access to important treatments under the NHS. The problem exists in other countries that employ the NICE model, such as Australia, Canada and Germany.

The AEI held a forum in Washington DC to discuss Dr Redwood's report and consider the policy consequences for the USA. PhRMA chief executive Billy Tauzin said: "today's forum underscored why one-size-fits-all health care solutions are bad for patients," adding that "the way to meet health care challenges is not by promoting policies that delay or deny patient access to life-saving medicines." The study was carried before recent controversies over AD, diabetes and brain cancer.