NICE plans to charge manufacturers for medical device appraisals put on hold

A plan by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to charge manufacturers for medical device appraisals has been put on hold.

The institute will instead wait until after the British government completes its life sciences strategy, which is tied to Britain’s involvement with Brexit.

The decision to consider charging companies for appraisals came in 2015, after a triennial review of NICE. After the Cabinet Office recommended that NICE charge fees for appraisals, the agency announced plans for the fees, which could amount to £300,000 per appraisal.

Currently, NICE must appraise any medical devices from companies who wish to market its product through the NHS. The appraisal determines the device's clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness compared to other medical devices on the NHS. Appraisals are funded through the UK’s Department of Health, a strategy which limits the number of appraisals that NICE can complete each year.

Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE said: “We have been working to create a new funding model for technology evaluation to meet the government’s challenge to drive efficiency and deliver better value. We’ve agreed with the Department of Health to wait for the Government’s life sciences strategy to be completed before we move forward with our plans.”

The plans have been met with a largely negative response, with Paul Catchpole, value and access director at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry saying that NICE’s processes need to evolve before the institute starts charging.  

Dillon states that the fees are negligible when compared with the cost of bringing a product to market. Dillon said that whilst companies may not welcome the plans, it is fair.

NICE will continue testing the proposal and will compare the funding strategy to other suggestions made by industry stakeholders.