New Zealand drug agency provides model to help insulate NICE from impacts of post-Brexit trade deals | myScience / news / wire

An investigation by CASP researchers suggests safeguards put in place in New Zealand to protect drug policy offer important lessons for UK trade deals.

The investigation from researchers at the University of Bath and Durham University suggest New Zealand’s success can largely be ascribed to its drug agency PHARMAC. PHARMAC is unique because it not only assesses drugs scientifically, but also negotiates their prices with pharma companies.

Its equivalent in England is NICE, however whereas NICE focuses on the scientific assessment of drugs, price negotiations with drug companies rest with NHS England. There is speculation that given the attractiveness of the UK as a market for multinational drug companies, new trade deals being agreed by the UK could undermine NICE’s ability to assess new drugs and determine whether they represent value for money.

Read the source article at myScience
2021-07-19 01:00:00