NHS watchdog to charge drug approval fees
The NHS watchdog is drawing up plans to start charging companies fees to get new drugs approved.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) wants to introduce the fees next year that mean companies will be charged for assessing whether medicines offer value for money, a requirement before new drugs can be prescribed by NHS doctors.
Under the plans, HM Treasury rules require all companies to be charged the same fee for the same service, meaning global pharmacuticl giants – such as AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline – will billed the same as smaller drug firms.
According to proposals Nice will charge between £99,000 and £282,000 per assessment.