Novartis in health technology assessment trial with NICE

According to the UK newspaper The Financial Times, Swiss-headquartered Novartis has collaborated with the UK's medicines agency, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the joint design of a late-stage clinical trial.

According to the 17 December article, NICE will charge a fee for informing Novartis which criteria will form the basis of its decision to advise the NHS whether to buy the medicine once it is launched.

In an interview with the FT, Joe Jimenez, Novartis' head of pharmaceuticals, said: "This is about identifying the impact of the drug and the evidence of impact. Input at an early stage gives us the evidence to speed our drug to market. We're looking at more innovative ways to stand behind our drugs."

In November 2007, Novartis consulted with NICE on the design of the phase III trial for the drug, which is currently named Novartis 001.

According to the FT, the results of the trial are expected within a year.