Innovation UK > News > Innovation News > Innovation pass to help NHS patients

A pilot scheme to give patients access to innovative drugs not yet available on the NHS has been launched by the government.

Under the proposals, an ?innovation pass? will allow patients with rarer diseases access to innovative new drugs that are not yet appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). As the number of patients using these drugs is small, the lack of current evidence available means that NICE is not able to conduct a full assessment for their use on the NHS.

During the three year pilot, the Innovation Pass will allow valuable data to be collected on the impact of these new drugs on patients and their cost effectiveness, helping contribute towards a future NICE appraisal.

The Innovation Pass pilot is being run in partnership with NICE and has involved significant input from a range of stakeholders, including the NHS and the Life Sciences industry, and will be funded from an exclusive £25m budget in 2010/11. Funding for future years will be discussed in the consultation.

Drugs included on the scheme will be licensed and NICE will play a key role in developing and applying the drug eligibility criteria for the Innovation Pass. All drugs included on the pilot will be submitted for NICE appraisal at the end of the three years.