The UK looks set to become the first country in the world to use a subscription-style payment model for antibiotics after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved in draft guidance the use of Pfizer’s Zavicefta (ceftazidime/avibactam) and Shionogi’s Fetcroja (cefiderocol) to treat patients with severe drug-resistant infections who would otherwise have limited or no other treatment options.
Under the deal, a fixed annual fee will be paid to manufacturers for access to the two medicines, calculated based on the value they offer to the health service, irrespective of how many prescriptions are issued. NICE notes that it is the “first health technology assessment organisation anywhere in the world to attempt to estimate the full value of an antimicrobial in this way”.
According to NICE, the new subscription-style payment model has been designed to try and address lack of new antimicrobials being developed and the growing threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.
The draft NICE guidance will inform commercial discussions between NHS England and NHS Improvement and the companies to agree payment levels in the subscription-style contracts. According to the local press, the proposed contracts will last for ten years and are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Sources:
- www.pharmaphorum.com, “UK launches its ‘Netflix-style’ payment model for antibiotics”, 12th April 2022
- www.bbc.co.uk, “Two new drugs to fight superbugs available on NHS soon”, 12th April 2022
- www.nice.org.uk, “NICE reaches important milestone in the UK’s efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance”, 12th April 2022
- https://pharmaphorum.com/news/uk-launches-its-netflix-style-payment-model-for-antibiotics/