Judgement In Favour Of NICE On Judicial Review Of Abatacept For Rheumatoid Arthritis Guidance

Main Category: Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 10 Nov 2009 - 7:00 PST

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The High Court has ruled in favour of NICE by dismissing the application from Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), the manufacturer of abatacept, for a judicial review of the NICE guidance on the use of abatacept for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In April 2008, NICE published final guidance which did not recommend abatacept as a treatment option for people with rheumatoid arthritis. The judgement rejected the claims that the consultation process during the appraisal was unfair and that the criteria used in the decision making process breached the EU transparency directive.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, NICE Clinical and Public Health Director, said: "We are pleased to have won this case - the judgment is a welcome endorsement of the rigorous methods we use to produce our guidance. We have argued that our decision making processes are open, transparent and fair and that the diversion of NHS resources into funding treatments that are not cost-effective would be likely to cause real injustice to people suffering from other serious conditions.

This was not a legal challenge against the recommendations themselves or against NICE, but about specific parts of the process that NICE followed. The company acknowledged that its product was no more effective but was more expensive than other available drugs appraised. It is disappointing that BMS has forced NICE to divert resources to defending this legal claim."

Source
NICE