NICE proposes abbreviated appraisal pathway

The board of the U.K.'s NICE approved for consultation a proposal to establish the Abbreviated Technology Appraisal (ATA) pathway, which would shorten the appraisal process and eliminate the need for cost-per-quality-adjusted life year (QALY) analysis for new drugs that are expected to have similar efficacy and safety to drugs NICE already recommends in the same indication.

Under the proposed ATA process, NICE would require the same clinical evidence base as for a standard single technology appraisal (STA). For an economic cost-utility analysis, such as the modeling of cost per QALY, the appraisal committee would perform a cost-comparison analysis against the comparator drugs. ...