Specialist commentators

Specialist commentators

Comments on this technology were invited from clinical experts working in the field and relevant patient organisations. The comments received are individual opinions and do not represent NICE's view.

The following clinicians contributed to this briefing:

  • Dr John Dickson, General Practitioner with a Special Interest, Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group. Dr Dickson declared the following conflicts of interest:

    • Dr Dickson has a consultancy agreement with the manufacturer of FLEXISEQ and has done fee paid work for them.

    • He has about $10,000 worth of shares in Pfizer.

    • He is a Trustee of the Primary Care Rheumatology Society.

  • Dr Yee Ho (Michael) Chiu, Consultant Rheumatologist, Arrowe Park Hospital, no conflicts of interest declared.

  • Dr Pamela Mangat, Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal Free London, no conflicts of interest declared.

  • Dr Mark Porcheret, Senior Lecturer in General Practice, Keele University, no conflicts of interest declared.

  • Dr Benjamin Schreiber, Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal Free London, no conflicts of interest declared.

  • Dr Elspeth Wise, General Practitioner with a Special Interest, ‎Northern Doctors Urgent Care Ltd. Dr Wise declared the following conflicts of interest:

    • Ran a recruitment site for CL033-III-03. The surgery she works for was paid per patient recruited and she personally received some of the payment.

    • Involved in a review paper of the technology which was sponsored by FLEXISEQ manufacturer (Pro Bono Bio). She received expenses and hospitality for the meeting arranged to discuss this.

    • Presented a summary of the research behind FLEXISEQ to the Primary Care Rheumatology Society but received no financial support/compensation for this. The review article stated that evidence supported the usage of FLEXISEQ in osteoarthritis.

    • A family member buys FLEXISEQ over the counter for knee osteoarthritis.