The government has today (1 December 2025) announced that it will
increase the core thresholds NICE uses in our evaluations of new
medicines to decide if they should be used in the
NHS.
The change is designed to improve the operating environment for
pharmaceutical companies in the UK to maximise the government's
commitment to unlock innovation and support the sector.
Commenting on the announcement Dr Samantha
Roberts, NICE chief executive said:
“In a health service funded through general taxation, it is right
that government decides on the level of health spend. The newly
agreed thresholds aim to support the life sciences sector and
broader economy.
“We will introduce these changes swiftly and fairly, by April
2026, to provide clarity for patients and companies.”
Notes
Current thresholds and how they work:
Our Technology Appraisals use quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)
to estimate the health benefits of new medicines. The QALY
combines both the length of life gained from a treatment and its
impact on quality of life. We use QALYs to compare new potential
treatments with current treatment.
We currently assess value for money for the NHS by applying a
cost-effectiveness range of £20,000 to £30,000 per QALY gained
over and above current treatments (‘the thresholds'). (We use a
much higher threshold for medicines that treat ultra-rare
conditions).
This means that for a medicine to be considered cost effective,
it should typically generate 1 additional year of perfect health
(or an equivalent combination of additional life expectancy and
quality of life improvements) for no more than £20,000 - £30,000
over the cost of current care.
Under the announcement today that will change to £25,000 to
£35,000. We currently recommend 9 in 10 of the medicines we
evaluate (91%), around 70 a year. Our analysis suggests that
increasing the standard threshold to £25,000 - £35,000 will allow
us to recommend an additional 3-5 new medicines or indications
per year.
