BMJ  2006;333:719 (7 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7571.719

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Drug companies' lobbying of ministers has little effect on NICE

Andrew Jack, pharmaceutical correspondent

Financial Times

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

Aggressive lobbying of government ministers by drug companies seeking to overturn the judgments of the body that advises on the use of treatments by the NHS in England and Wales has had little effect on its decisions.

Minutes of civil service meetings obtained by the Guardian (Sep 28, p 1) under freedom of information laws show that during the eight months to May this year senior executives from 10 drug companies met ministers to criticise the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

Since its creation seven years ago NICE has been attacked by drug companies, doctors, and patients' groups whenever it recommends against reimbursement of new drugs in the NHS—largely on the grounds that their relative effectiveness is modest or their cost excessive.

An international consensus is growing that to improve health and tackle escalating healthcare costs a more systematic "health technology assessment" is needed of precisely the . . . [Full text of this article]


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