Host: The Japanese Pharmacological Society, The Japanese Society of Clinical Pharmacology
Name : WCP2018 (18th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology)
Location : Kyoto
Date : July 01, 2018 - July 06, 2018
Around the year 2000, at a similar time to the creation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), other UK organisations were established to address health technology assessment (HTA) in Scotland and Wales, in each case led by a clinical pharmacologist (Sir Michael Rawlins, England, Prof David Lawson, Scotland; Prof Phil Routledge, Wales). Whereas NICE had a broad remit in HTA, guidelines development, quality standards and beyond, the key purpose of the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC; https://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk) has been to identify, and accept for use, those newly licensed medicines that clearly represent good value for money to the NHS in Scotland. Indeed, SMC has reviewed all newly licensed medicines, all new formulations of existing medicines and new indications for established products since 2002. SMC analyses information supplied by the medicine manufacturer on the health benefits of the medicine and the justification of its price. With limited resources, SMC works for the NHS to make sure that medicines representing good value for money are accepted for routine use as quickly as possible so they can benefit patients. The Consortium is made up of lead clinicians, pharmacists and health economists, together with NHS managers, the pharmaceutical industry and the public. Among the clinicians in the process, clinical pharmacologists have always played a central role, for their specialty focus on medicines, and their understanding of the drug development and medicines licensing process, clinical trials of efficacy, clinical-effectiveness, use of real world data, and, increasingly, making effective use of health economic data. As clinicians, clinical pharmacologist are relatively comfortable with making judgements in situations of incomplete information, and can act independent of field specialists in recognising when a new medicines produces an incremental benefit or is likely to be a 'breakthrough' product. Challenges to the system have been created by expensive drugs, often for cancer or orphan conditions, but the robust process at SMC allows for discussions on discounting in one form or another if a drug does not provide value for money. SMC is a cost-effective organisation, making medicines cost-effective in Scotland.
