Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19214

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Publication type: news

McConaghie A
Value-based pricing will not harm industry, says NICE chief
InPharm 2011 Feb 18
http://www.inpharm.com/news/148696/value-based-pricing-will-not-harm-industry-says-nice-chief

Full text:

NICE’s chief executive Sir Andrew Dillon says he believes plans to introduce value-based pricing of medicines will not have a negative effect on the pharma industry.

Dillon was appearing before the committee of MPs charged with scrutinising the government’s Health and Social Care Bill, which encompasses mammoth reform of the health service as well as the pricing of medicines.

When asked whether or not value-based pricing (VBP) would have a negative impact on the UK pharma industry, Sir Andrew said: “It is likely to be on a range of neutral to positive.”

He added: “It can be positive if it achieves the aim of the government’s proposals – achieves our ambition of providing a clearer signal to the pharmaceutical industry about the sorts of products and the sorts of disease areas that we really want the industry to concentrate on.”

Dillon added that the aims of the VBP proposal were ‘entirely laudable’: “To fix a price of a drug that reflects accurately the additional benefits it brings over current standard practice; and the plan calls for more transparency and more clarity in what the NHS regards as value for new treatments, so that there is greater predictability in the process for everybody.”

He reassured the cross-bench committee of MPs that NICE would continue its clinical and cost effectiveness appraisals, but would no longer issue final recommendations direct to the NHS.

“It will still be possible for prescribers and the public to see just where a new treatment really scores in terms of additional benefit compared with what is available at the moment.

“We need to wait and see what the outcome of the consultation is to see the final arrangements and then to make an assessment of their ultimate impact,” he added.