UK's NICE to adopt more transparency

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the UK advisory body which recommends medical treatments, including drugs, in England and Wales under the National Health Service, has announced that it will open its committees to public scrutiny later this year. The decision was made public as part of a government investigation of the NICE's operations, and comes at a time of increased dissatisfaction with the agency's decision making, especially concerning controversial rulings on certain drugs (Marketletters passim).