Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account NICE takes of the fact that medicines have successfully passed through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme due to high unmet medical needs when undertaking technology appraisals.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it takes the opinion provided by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency into account, where it is considered relevant to its recommendations. NICE offers companies the opportunity to meet with NICE and NHS England to discuss feasibility/applicability of proposed plans to collect data during the Early Access to Medicines Scheme period which could inform a NICE evaluation. NICE endeavours to schedule these topics into its work programme as soon as possible, so that it can produce timely guidance.