Problems with UK government's risk sharing scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7385.388

BMJ 2003;326:388-392 ( 15 February )

Education and debate

Problems with UK government's risk sharing scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis

Cathie L M Sudlow, Wellcome clinician scientist ^a, Carl E Counsell, senior lecturer ^b.

^a Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, ^b Department of Neurology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen AB25 2ZN

Correspondence to: C L M Sudlow csudlow@skull.dcn.ed.ac.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The government plans to make interferon beta and glatiramer available to patients with multiple sclerosis through a risk sharingscheme, despite lack of evidence of cost effectiveness. Sudlowand colleagues argue that the money would be better spent on independentresearch

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently announced that interferon beta and glatiramer acetate werenot cost effective treatments for multiple sclerosis and couldnot be recommended for NHS funding.¹ As a result, the Departmentof Health and the manufacturers developed a "risk sharing scheme"aimed at providing these drugs more cost effectively. ² ³ Treatment will be provided to ambulating patients with two ormore disabling relapses in the past two years (about 15% of allpatients with multiple sclerosis)⁴ and their progress monitoredover 10 years. However, the scheme has several scientific andpractical problems that we believe limit its ability to improvethe care of patients in the . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Let cost effectiveness models be open to scrutiny: Chris Poole, Samir Agrawal, and Craig J Currie
BMJ 2007 335: 735. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Why are eyes tightly shut to considering causes other than autoimmunity?: Abhijit Chaudhuri and Peter O Behan
BMJ 2003 326: 1213. [Extract] [Full Text]

Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Dealing with uncertainties about cost effectiveness of treatments is difficult problem: David Chadwick and Richard Gray
BMJ 2003 326: 1212-1213. [Extract] [Full Text]

Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Cost effective provision of effective treatments for multiple sclerosis: Jacqueline C Napier, Richard Francis, and Glyn Wright
BMJ 2003 326: 1212. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Chadwick, D. (2009). NICE and neurology. PN 9: 278-283 [Abstract] [Full text]
McCabe, C., Bergmann, L., Bosanquet, N., Ellis, M., Enzmann, H., von Euler, M., Jonsson, B., Kallen, K.-J., Newling, D., Nussler, V., Paschen, B., de Wilde, R., Wilking, N., Teale, C., Zwierzina, H., Biotherapy Development Association, (2009). Market and patient access to new oncology products in Europe: a current, multidisciplinary perspective. Ann Oncol 20: 403-412 [Abstract] [Full text]
Poole, C., Agrawal, S., Currie, C. J (2007). Let cost effectiveness models be open to scrutiny. BMJ 335: 735-735 [Full text]
Chalmers, I. (2007). Addressing uncertainties about the effects of treatments offered to NHS patients: whose responsibility?. JRSM 100: 440-441 [Full text]
Massacesi, L., Parigi, A., Barilaro, A., Repice, A. M., Pellicano, G., Konze, A., Siracusa, G., Taiuti, R., Amaducci, L. (2005). Efficacy of Azathioprine on Multiple Sclerosis New Brain Lesions Evaluated Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Arch Neurol 62: 1843-1847 [Abstract] [Full text]
Hughes, D.A., Tunnage, B., Yeo, S.T. (2005). Drugs for exceptionally rare diseases: do they deserve special status for funding?. QJM 98: 829-836 [Abstract] [Full text]
Zajicek, J (2005). Diagnosis and disease modifying treatments in multiple sclerosis. Postgrad. Med. J. 81: 556-561 [Abstract] [Full text]
Lu, C. Y, Williams, K., Day, R., March, L., Sansom, L., Bertouch, J. (2004). Access to high cost drugs in Australia. BMJ 329: 415-416 [Full text]
Crinson, I. (2004). The Politics of Regulation within the 'Modernized' NHS: The Case of Beta Interferon and the 'Cost-Effective' Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. Critical Social Policy 24: 30-49 [Abstract]
Napier, J. C, Francis, R., Wright, G. (2003). Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Cost effective provision of effective treatments for multiple sclerosis. BMJ 326: 1212-1212 [Full text]
Chaudhuri, A., Behan, P. O (2003). Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Why are eyes tightly shut to considering causes other than autoimmunity?. BMJ 326: 1213-1213 [Full text]
Chadwick, D., Gray, R. (2003). Shared scheme for assessing drugs for multiple sclerosis: Dealing with uncertainties about cost effectiveness of treatments is difficult problem. BMJ 326: 1212-1213 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Eyes tightly shut: Abhijit Chaudhuri, et al.
bmj.com, 14 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Cost-effective provision of effective MS therapies: Jacqueline C Napier, et al.
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2003 [Full text]
MS Risk Sharing Scheme: David W Chadwick, et al.
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2003 [Full text]
The Pharmaceutical Industry: Malcolm R Macleod
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Consumer view!: David Lloyd
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Response from the MS Monitoring Study: Mark Pickin, et al.
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Problems with the MS Risk sharing scheme: Christopher J. McCabe, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2003 [Full text]
A CONSUMER'S APOLOGY: David Lloyd
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2003 [Full text]
Randomised controlled trials in MS: John Zajicek, et al.
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2003 [Full text]
The outcome measures used will determine the success of the risk sharing scheme for MS treatment: Michael H Johnson, et al.
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2003 [Full text]
The Risk Sharing Scheme - more problems: Charles P Warlow
bmj.com, 5 Mar 2003 [Full text]
The MS risk sharing scheme - authors' reply: Carl E Counsell, et al.
bmj.com, 14 Mar 2003 [Full text]