Office of Life Sciences and the Innovation Pass
A new ‘innovation pass' that will make innovative medicines available on the NHS for a time-limited period ahead of a NICE appraisal was discussed at the NICE annual conference today. The pass is the latest in a series of new initiatives to come from the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), a cross-Government initiative to bring industry and health policy closer together.
Speaking at the conference, Richard Cieniala, Deputy Director of the Office for Life Sciences, Nick Burgin, Managing Director of Eisai Limited and Adrian Towse, Director of the Office of Health Economics, discussed the OLS's ‘Life Sciences Blueprint,' a package of measures to help maintain a competitive life science sector. The speakers grappled with issues such as the role of the NHS in driving innovation, how to recognise and encourage innovation - a theme running through the conference - and the role of the pharmaceutical industry in helping the NHS cope with the financial pressures it will undoubtedly face in the coming years.
One of the initiatives announced in the blueprint is the introduction of an innovation pass. The pass will make selected innovative medicines available on the NHS for a set period of time, prior to a NICE appraisal. Funding will be drawn from a new ring-fenced £25m budget, set aside exclusively for the innovation pass. A key feature of the pass will be the opportunity to provide earlier access to innovative drugs for patients with the greatest need, Rather than bypassing NICE, the pass would also create a system for collecting data on the drugs' effectiveness and cost-effectiveness that would eventually support a NICE appraisal.
A consultation launched this week by the Department of Health encourages those working in the NHS, industry and other stakeholders to comment on proposals for a pilot of the innovation pass which will take place in 2010.
The BioIndustry Association welcomed the consultation, saying that it will “allow patients with unmet medical needs to gain early access to the innovative technologies being developed by life sciences companies.”
Issued: 2 December 2009
This page was last updated: 15 January 2010
