R (on the application of Eisai Ltd) v National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) & (1) Shire Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2) Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (Interveners)
May 08
[2008] EWCA Civ 438
Appeal against a decision of the High Court rejecting its challenge to guidance issued by NICE in relation to the use of a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Eisai claimed that it was unfair to make available to consultees only a read-only version of an economic model used to asses the cost-effectiveness of drugs, rather than a fully executable version of the model.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal: NICE was subject to general principles of procedural fairness in the appraisal process and had to act fairly in the consultation exercise. The robustness of the model was a key question in this process and procedural fairness required release of the fully executable version of the model.
David Pannick QC and Tom de la Mare represented Eisai; Ivan Hare represented the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.