Study examines UK's NICE as model producer of HTA

GfK HealthCare, one the largest providers of fully integrated custom health care marketing research in the world, announced today the undertaking of a first-ever research study aimed at examining the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as a model producer of Health Technology Appraisals (HTA), and its impact on decision making in ex-UK health care systems.

“GfK is pleased to bring these first-ever insights into NICE's influence on health care systems outside the UK to the global pharmaceutical market”

NICE was established as a Special Health Authority in April 1999 to promote clinical excellence and the effective use of resources within the UK's National Health System. NICE is responsible, through HTAs, for providing national guidance on new and existing medicines and treatments within England and Wales, and is reputed to be one of the most prolific producers of HTAs in the world. Accordingly, over the past decade, NICE has had significant influence on other health care systems' decision-making processes for reimbursement, clinical guidelines and treatment patterns, especially among European countries and, increasingly, emerging markets.

Studying how decisions made by NICE affect product uptake and revenue in markets outside the UK and understanding the impact NICE actions have on reimbursement decisions in other health care systems are critically important. Such information can help pharmaceutical manufacturers to develop more successful HTA submissions and better understand payers' perception and behavior outside the UK.

The study will begin in September among key decision makers with payer responsibilities in markets including Spain, Germany, Italy, Sweden and/or the Netherlands, with additional countries available upon request. The research will be executed by GfK HealthCare's London-based Market Access Centre, a group with extensive experience in conducting payer research worldwide.

Among other issues, the study will address such questions as: Is NICE viewed as a benchmark for payers outside the UK? Are parts of the NICE appraisal process seen as benchmarks? Does NICE evidence suffice for other payers? Is NICE's new flexibility, especially in regard to patient access programs, a potential model for other payers?

"GfK is pleased to bring these first-ever insights into NICE's influence on health care systems outside the UK to the global pharmaceutical market," said Andreas Guhl, MD, Director of GfK HealthCare's Market Access Centre. "Our clients have voiced a substantial interest in better understanding this organization's impact outside of the UK, which we anticipate the research will reveal as significant. For example, according to what we've heard from U.S. payers, the absence of positive NICE guidance on a given drug is seen as a significant barrier to the drug's success in other markets. We want to see if this statement is true for other countries, among many other issues the study will explore."