NICE Launches Online Tool to Help Devicemakers Get to Market

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is launching a fee-based online tool to help devicemakers get their products to market faster.

The Medtech Early Technical Assessment (META) tool will help companies identify what evidence they already have and what gaps need to be filled to satisfy payers.

NICE says the new tool will help developers of medical devices and diagnostics generate evidence to show their products are clinically relevant and cost effective. The tool will enable companies to better articulate the benefits of their products, and will help companies prepare for a dialog with health technology assessment organizations and payers.

META is aimed primarily at small and medium sized companies, according to Leeza Osipenko, head of NICE Scientific Advice, the institute’s fee-based consultancy service. The tool will also benefit larger companies, but the agency’s goal is to look for ways to support smaller companies in generating evidence.