A pilot to help
patients get innovative new drugs not currently available on the
NHS is being launched for consultation today by Health Minister
Mike O’Brien and Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson.
The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) Blueprint published in July,
detailed the Government’s commitment to create an ‘Innovation
Pass’ pilot to allow patients with rarer diseases access to highly
innovative new drugs which are not yet appraised by NICE (National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), and where there is
limited data on their effectiveness.
As the number of patients using these drugs is small, the lack
of current evidence available means that NICE are not able to
conduct a full assessment for their use on the NHS. During the
three year pilot, the Innovation Pass will allow valuable data to
be collected on the impact of these new drugs on patients and
their cost effectiveness, helping contribute towards a future NICE
appraisal.
The Innovation Pass pilot is being run in partnership with NICE
and has involved significant input from a range of stakeholders
including the NHS and the Life Sciences industry and will be
funded from a ring-fenced £25m budget in 2010/11, set aside
exclusively for the innovation pass. Funding for future years is
discussed in the consultation.
Drugs included on the scheme will be licensed and NICE will play
a key role in developing and applying the drug eligibility
criteria for the Innovation Pass. All drugs included on the pilot
will be submitted for NICE appraisal at the end of the three
years.
Health Minister Mike O’Brien said:
“I am extremely pleased to launch this consultation that will
help patients with the greatest need to benefit from and get
access to exciting new innovative drugs.
“The Innovation Pass pilot will help collect the essential data
needed to demonstrate that such drugs, which would not otherwise
be available to patients, are making a big difference to their
lives.
“I value NICE’s involvement in the pilot from the outset. NICE
are recognised as a world leader in the assessment of health
technologies and their involvement in the innovation pass process
will ensure that the best information is available when assessing
which drugs should qualify for the pass.”
Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson
said:
“The Innovation Pass is about Government working with industry to
secure patient and economic benefit. This consultation is
a critical milestone for delivering the Office for Life Sciences
Blueprint. It makes it plain that Government values and supports
innovation in this key sector for the UK economy.”
NICE Chief Executive Andrew Dillon said:
“We recognise that for a small number of very promising new
treatments, the evidence available may not reveal their full
potential benefits for patients. Where there is a high risk that a
NICE appraisal of a new treatment at the point ofits first
use in the NHS might underestimate its benefits, providing the
opportunity to gather more evidence and making the treatment
available before undertaking an appraisal is the right thing to
do.
“We’re happy to play our part in making this new arrangement work
well, and that it works in the interests of patients and the NHS.”
BIA (BioIndustry Association) Chairman Clive Dix
said:
"The introduction of an Innovation Pass will allow
patients with unmet medical needs to gain early access to the
innovative technologies being developed by life sciences
companies. It also signals to the investment community that the
government understand and supports the innovative life science
sector in the UK.”
Director-General of the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Dr Richard Barker said:
"The Innovation Pass is a very positive step for
patients, clinicians, the life science industry and the NHS, and
is the result of our work together under the Office for Life
Sciences. It means that innovative medicines for small patient
populations, that come to market with limited information about
cost-effectiveness, will be available to patients earlier than
they would otherwise have been."
The Innovation Pass pilot consultation will run for 10 weeks,
closing on 8th February 2010. Input and comments are welcome from
all groups including stakeholders, industry, the NHS and patient groups.
Notes to Editors
1. The Innovation Pass pilot consultation can be found at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_109236
2. The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) Blueprint, published in
July 2009, announcing a package of measures to help maintain a
competitive life science sector in the UK. One of these
recommendations - point 2.5 – was for the creation of an
“Innovation Pass”. The Blueprint can be found at:
http://www.dius.gov.uk/innovation/business_support/ols
3. For more information about how the NICE appraisal process
works, please visit:
http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/how_we_work.jsp
4. For more information please contact the Department of Health
press office on: 0207 210 5221 or the Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills press office on: 0207 215 5938.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk