Leading academics condemn government undermining of NICE

Two academics have written a damning critique of UK government policy, which they said supported the drug industry but undermined the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and pushed up drug prices.

The health economists Alan Maynard and Karen Bloor have written in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine that current government policy lacked accountability, was not based on evidence, and had added billions to NHS costs.1

In 2009 NICE was instructed to increase its cost threshold for drugs it recommends above £30 000 (€42 000; $45 000) per quality adjusted life year (QALY) for drugs used at the end of life, such as …