GOVERNMENT FUNDING CUTS HIT UK'S NICE

As a result of a GBP3.5mn (US$6.31mn) cut in government funding, the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has had to close one of its three appraisal committees. The result is that of the 63 drug appraisals currently underway in the country, 15 will be delayed by as much as four months. Drugs affected will include oncology treatments, as well as those for age-related macular degeneration, diabetes and heart disease. Doctors in the UK can prescribe a drug once the country's drug regulator MHRA has licensed it, although, in practice it is rare to do so before it has received approval from NICE.

NICE is currently considering introducing a fast track process that will halve the appraisal time for straightforward treatments. In addition, UK charity CancerBACUP is calling for the government to set up a separate advisory group, which will look at new cancer treatments within three months of them receiving licenses, and then recommend which ones should be fast-tracked through NICE.