When the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) first started to flex its muscles in 1999, the drug industry would love to have exported it, preferably somewhere like Mars. Ten years later, the influence of NICE, far from being blunted, is beginning to spread. Its methods and organisational model have become something of a beacon to governments wrestling with the issues of efficacy and fairness in healthcare delivery.

This newfound popularity has inspired NICE to set up a small team to investigate whether NICE-ness can be sold for a profit abroad. Andrew Dillon, NICE’s chief executive, said that interest has come from many different places. “It’s clear that what we do and how we do it is of interest to healthcare systems around the world, regardless of how they are funded,” he said. “It’s not related to the wealth of the system. Optimising the way money is spent is our approach, and that is of interest to everybody, rich or poor.”