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NICE News International

Bringing you the latest news on our global partnerships
January 2026

News
Patient at pharmacist picking up prescription

Unlocking the potential of off-patent medicines


We’ve recommended abiraterone as a treatment option for people with a form of prostate cancer.  

After previously being unable to recommend abiraterone due to cost-effectiveness, we've now reassessed the treatment following the availability of lower-cost generic versions. This has resulted in positive guidance that could benefit 4,000 patients and save the NHS millions. 

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of a generic medicine is a new step for NICE. We completed this review as part of our whole life-cycle approach to guidance development. This makes our recommendations more responsive to changes in evidence, pricing, and clinical practice.
Female scientist on laptop in lab

Accelerating access to new liver disease treatments 


Our Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory has developed a new framework to help speed up access to emerging treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). MASH affects a diverse and large group of patients. Given that no approved treatments are available right now, it represents a new therapeutic area for our technology evaluation programmes.   
 
By using a common framework to develop and assess evidence submissions, manufacturers and NICE evaluation committees can work together to make consistent and efficient decisions that benefit patients. 

Changes to NICE’s cost-effectiveness thresholds

The UK government has announced that it will increase the thresholds NICE uses in evaluations of new medicines to decide which are cost-effective for use in the NHS. 
This change aims to improve the operating environment for pharmaceutical companies in the UK to maximise the government’s commitment to unlock innovation and support the sector.
Catch up on all our latest news articles

Getting medicines to patients faster 
NICE Talks
Listen to this episode of NICE Talks to learn how NICE and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are launching an aligned pathway to accelerate patient access to medicines.
Listen to NICE | MHRA podcast
This initiative centres on closer collaboration and information sharing between NICE and MHRA to enable parallel publication of decisions on licensing and value. The impact of this will be significant with time to patient access reduced by 3 to 6 months.   
 
Find out more about this work in our blog post: Same time decisions on licensing and value.
 
You can also watch the recording of our NICE/MHRA webinar: Aligned decisions, faster patient access. You’ll hear directly from NICE and MHRA leaders about how we're collaborating to deliver this ambitious vision. 

Events

Speakers announced for the NICE Conference 2026

The NICE Conference 2026 brings together an experienced lineup of speakers from across health and social care. 

Join us in-person on Tuesday 17 March 2026 in Manchester, UK to hear how NICE is working with international partners to critically and independently research some of the most pressing topics in global health decision making.   

We’ll also be taking a look behind the scenes at how NICE makes decisions and how are we ensuring our methods remain at the global forefront of technology evaluation and guideline development. 
Register for NICE Conference

Join us at ISPOR UAE Chapter 2026 Conference

Hugh McGuire and Jessica Davis from our NICE International team will be attending ISPOR United Arab Emirates Chapter 2026 Conference from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 January in Abu Dhabi. The team will be leading sessions on:  

  • the foundations of economic evaluation 
  • establishing robust health technology assessment systems in developing countries 
  • equitable access to innovative health technologies. 

If you’re attending the conference and would like to discuss how NICE International can support you to improve evidence-based decision making in health and social care, please get in touch.
Learn more about ISPOR 2026

Blogs

NICE in 2025

In this end-of-year blog, our departing chief executive Dr Sam Roberts reflects on our achievements over the past 12 months.
Read Sam's blog

Announcements

Our new chief executive Professor Jonathan Benger CBE 

We are delighted to announce that Professor Jonathan Benger CBE has been appointed as our new chief executive. Jonathan has been a key member of our leadership team since joining as chief medical officer in 2023. He brings extensive experience from senior national roles across the NHS.
Jonathan's appointment comes at a pivotal time, as we play a central part in delivering the UK government’s 10 Year Health Plan.
Read full announcement

NICE and MHRA receive £2 million to improve digital mental health tech

Additional funding from Wellcome will allow NICE and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to continue developing clear, proportionate guidance for digital mental health technologies. Working with partners from around the world, the project will explore international standards for regulating these technologies. It will also consider challenges in transporting evidence across international settings.
Learn more about Wellcome project

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