NICE

NICE issues guidance to improve kidney cancer care

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0400

With incidence of kidney cancer rising in the U.K., the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its first comprehensive guidelines for diagnosing and treating the disease.

NICE recommends leadless pacemakers to treat slow heart rhythms

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0500

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendation that leadless cardiac pacemakers be used as the standard of care for people with slow heart rhythms (bradyarrhythmias) is a boon for more than 2 million individuals living with the condition. The use of the technology will transform patients’ quality of life, reduce rates of infections and lower costs for the health care system.

UK’s NICE recommends Abbott’s Cardiomems heart failure system

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the use of Abbott Laboratories’ Cardiomems HF system, giving people living with heart failure an option to monitor their condition daily from home. The implantable wireless sensor could transform care for individuals with the chronic condition as it will enable them to catch early warning signs before they escalate to medical emergencies.

NICE wants more evidence for Barrett’s esophagus treatment

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Cryoablation for Barrett’s esophagus is something of a novelty, and the U.K. National Institute of Health and Care Excellence is considering an endorsement of the treatment.

NICE’s draft for spine fractures could boost DXA utilization, sales

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is revisiting its policy for osteoporosis and may recommend that clinicians include vertebral fracture assessment with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry procedures.

NICE offers conditional endorsement for eight apps for asthma

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has offered a thumbs-up for eight digital technologies to help patients with asthma manage their conditions. The sponsors of these products have three years to turn out enough evidence to persuade NICE to fully endorse those products, after which these platforms could have access to a market of more than five million patients.

NICE revisiting thresholds and care pathways for ovarian cancer

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence posted a draft update on its recommendations for ovarian cancer testing, proposing several changes that may lead to earlier intervention in the ovarian cancer disease cycle.

Payers faced traditional, novel payment policies in 2025

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0500

Payers had their hands full in 2025 dealing with the raft of medical technologies that came through the globe’s regulatory review processes, although the nature of many of those challenges were conventional. On the other hand, payers struggled to keep pace with both the volume of conventional devices and the novelty of AI-driven devices in 2025, a problem that will carry over into the coming year.

NICE to bump cost effectiveness thresholds for HTAs

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 11:00:00 -0500

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence announced an increase in the cost effectiveness thresholds for its health technology assessment program, but this new threshold falls far short of where the figure should be when adjusting for inflation.

NICE nods to AI in detection of osteoporosis-driven vertebral fracture

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Vertebral compression fractures are one of the more obvious signs of osteoporosis but can be difficult to diagnose, one of several reasons the U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has given the nod to five AI products that can improve rapid detection of these fractures.

UK’s NICE seeks to streamline workflow to improve access

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence unveiled a plan that is designed to provide less cumbersome market access for medical technologies.

NICE tells docs to pay less for TAVR when possible

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended that physicians in the U.K. use the least expensive, clinically appropriate TAVR device when possible, concluding a pricing review that commenced roughly a year ago.

NICE says multidisciplinary team needed for knee cartilage patient selection

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated its guidance for the use of single-procedure insertion of scaffolds for knee cartilage repairs, specifying that only qualified surgeons should perform the procedure.

MHRA eyes expanded reliance programs to boost patient access

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency unveiled another round of measures designed to promote access to the latest medical technology, which includes a move to jettison domestic device markings in favor of unique device identifiers.

Life sciences strategy to reduce UK approval costs by 25%

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0400

The U.K. government has committed to reduce the cost of drug and device approvals by 25% as part of a long-awaited life sciences strategy which sets out a 10-year plan for the sector.

NICE endorses pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has endorsed the use of pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation, and while several trusts in the U.K. are already using these devices for their patients, the endorsement is certain to expand utilization in the U.K., which according to data from Clarivate’s Epidemiology Intelligence may come to nearly 4 million.

Life sciences strategy to reduce UK approval costs by 25%

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0400

The U.K. government has committed to reduce the cost of drug and device approvals by 25% as part of a long-awaited life sciences strategy which sets out a 10-year plan for the sector.

NICE still wary of TAVR in moderate and low risk patients

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Health Service may or may not deploy transcatheter aortic valve replacement devices as widely as in the U.S., but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence officially staked out the position the data are not yet compelling for anyone other than high risk patients.

NICE rejects Lilly‘s Kisunla and Eisai‘s Leqembi

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0400

To no great surprise, the U.K.’s health technology assessment body has found that the benefits of the first two approved Alzheimer’s disease drugs are too small to justify the costs. Neither Kisunla (donanemab, Eli Lilly and Co. Inc.) or Leqembi (lecanemab, Eisai Co. Ltd.), “demonstrate sufficient benefit to justify their high cost, including the cost of administering them,” the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded after an extended appraisal of the two amyloid neutralizing antibodies.

NICE says new tech may no longer be required to save on costs

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reported it will streamline its health technology assessment, but the bigger news might be that the agency will no longer require new technologies prove to be cost saving to win an endorsement from the agency.

Rising obesity levels spur endoscopic sleeve uptick

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 12:00:00 -0400

While GLP-1 receptor agonists continue to grab the headlines as a treatment option for obesity, another therapy, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), is seeing a steady rise in demand.

NICE sees room for digital health for chronic tics and Tourette

Mon, 12 May 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) endorsed the use of the Orbit system by Mindtech Ltd. as a treatment for tics and Tourette syndrome.

NICE OKs conditional coverage of robotic surgery

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) gave the nod to a total of 11 robotic surgical systems for use in the U.K.’s trusts, but this is no free pass as the agency expects the manufacturers of these systems to gather data under this conditional coverage framework.

NICE to revisit its cost savings approach to health tech assessment

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0500

The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) historically relies on cost savings to vet novel medical technologies, but that may soon change per a Feb. 7 announcement.

Boston Sci, Medtronic fare well in NICE review of remote monitoring

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Remote monitoring for patients with implanted cardiac electrophysiology devices may finally be coming of age in the U.K. thanks to a review of these systems by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

UK nod for Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla, but NICE says no coverage

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Agency has become the third to approve Eli Lilly and Co.’s Kisunla (donanemab), but the drug’s spending watchdog has simultaneously ruled the Alzheimer’s disease treatment is not cost effective.

NICE backs Mounjaro for obesity but UK’s NHS urges phased rollout

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:00:00 -0400

For once, the U.K.’s health technology assessment body, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), has no reservations about the cost effectiveness of a new drug and is recommending Eli Lilly and Co.’s obesity therapy, Mounjaro (tirzepatide), for use in the National Health Service (NHS).

NICE sees need for more evidence for tests for ADHD

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence endorsed the Qb Test by Qbtech AB of Stockholm to aid in diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in those aged 6 to 17.

UK’s NICE sees digital health products as aids to therapist time

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reported that mental health professionals experienced a dramatic increase in referrals for anxiety and depression over the past decade but noted that digital therapies might help manage the caseload, representing a significant opportunity for developers of these products.

NICE guardedly optimistic about scaffolds for knee cartilage repair

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:00:00 -0400

The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence sees some evidence that single-step insertions of scaffolds for knees with damaged cartilage offer significant benefits, calling for the use of registries for tracking of outcomes data.