Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of (a) the number of times and (b) the circumstances in which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has applied greater flexibility in its evaluation of (i) new health technologies and (ii) gene therapies routed through the single technology appraisal pathway since the health technology evaluation manual was updated in June 2022.

Since publication of its updated process and methods for health technology evaluation in January 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has applied a modifier in its evaluation of two new active substances evaluated through the single technology appraisal process. NICE has been able to recommend both technologies where a modifier has been applied, allowing the National Health Service to adopt innovative new treatments while ensuring value for the taxpayer.

The severity modifier was applied in NICE’s appraisals of regorafenib for previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer [TA866] and bulevirtide for treating chronic hepatitis D [TA896].