Horizon ScanningHorizon ScanningWhy, how and what lies Why, how and what lies

ahead?ahead?

Key learning points • Why is horizon scanning for medicines important

• How is horizon scanning undertaken

• What information is available to support the managed entry of new drugs and its limitations

• What key therapeutic advances are expected in the next year

What is horizon scanning?Horizon Scanning has been defined as:

‘the systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities and likely future developments…….'

Horizon scanning for medicines aims to identify:• treatments likely to become available to the NHS

that may have significant implications for – clinical practice – service design – finance

• potential disinvestments

Why horizon scan for medicines?

Informs and primes providers and commissioners to proactively implement management strategies

– Anticipate pressures (financial and service delivery)– Manage budgets– Plan services - new and redesign– Identify areas for disinvestment– Manage entry into hospital/ formulary /practice etc– Identify drugs suitable for homecare

A woman with advanced kidney cancer and six months left to live says she is missing out on a potentially life-saving drug…….

Prescribing data (England)

2010: •NHS medicines expenditure £12.9 billion.•Hospital use accounted for 31.7%

NHS Information Centre: Hospital Prescribing England

Drivers of growth in prescribing• New drugs for diseases where previous options were

limited e.g. rare genetic diseases• Expanded indications (increase in eligible population)

e.g. chemotherapy drugs • New drug regimens or maintenance treatments added

to standard therapy e.g. chemotherapy, antidiabetes• Displacement of old drugs with new drugs at higher

cost e.g. “biologicals”, oral anticoagulants• ‘Medicalisation’ e.g. social anxiety• Ageing population

Other factors that impact on management of drug budgets

HTAs (NICE, SMC, AWMSG)

Payment by Results (PbR) tariff

HomecareCancer drug fund

Value based pricing

Commissioning

Innovation Health Wealth

and MHRA consultation

Patient access schemes

Patent expiries

Orphan drugs/ indications

Personalised healthcare

International markets

Patent expiries

• Specialist media for press releases highlighting – conference presentations– dates for submission to

licensing authorities – plans for development

• Specialist websites, databases and journals– UK PharmaScan

• Industry (contacts, websites, annual reports)

• Licensing agencies• Clinical trial registries• Clinical specialists• Other horizon scanners

Information sources used by horizon scanners

UK Horizon scanning organisations

Health & Social Care Northern Ireland

Medicines and Prescribing centre

How does the UKMi horizon scanning process work?

Systematic early identification

(horizon scanning)

PrioritisationInformation

retrieval

Filtration and selection

Assessment Dissemination

UKMi Horizon scanning products

www.nelm.nhs.ukPassword restricted to NHS

Prescribing Outlook

Horizon scanning challenges• Licence extensions/ new formulations are

difficult to track and time frames for approval are shorter

• Company acquisitions vs. in-house R&D (biotech)• Company mergers• Confidentiality issues• Epidemiology or target population may be

difficult to define and quantify

Horizon scanning challenges• Regulatory delays• Differences in views between licensing

authorities• Regulatory transparency differences• Indication applied for may not be the same as

that eventually approved • Cost is rarely known prior to launch• Rate and extent of market uptake is difficult to

forecast

Factors influencing impactDrug specific • Anticipated licence?• Formulation and administration?• First in class?• Place in therapy?• Significant improvement in disease management?• Other trials ongoing? (Licence extensions are easier

to obtain and there may be off label use.)• Cost of drug, administration and testing• What could be its USP (unique selling point)?

Factors influencing impactExternal factors

• Size of target population i.e. large population or significant subset of large population? What is large?

• Will it change where patients are treated e.g. hospital vs. intermediate vs. home vs. primary care?

• Local use (in ongoing clinical trials or unlicensed use)?• Funding of services? E.g National commissioning• Where in NICE agenda?• Which company?• Media/public interest?

Factors UKMi use for prioritisation• significant improvement in disease management?• additional therapy or displacement of existing therapies?• first in class or has a major new indication?• limited other drug/non-drug alternatives?• high cost? • service implications e.g. route/ formulation/ method of

delivery• the drug or disease area is considered an NHS priority• in the EU licensing process• significant additional indications in the advanced pipeline

stage• likely to be significant media interest.

Who is involved in UKMi prioritisation?

• UKMi pharmacists with extensive horizon scanning expertise

• Primary care/ commissioning pharmacists• Secondary care/ interface pharmacists• Other people/organisations with horizon scanning

expertise

• Accessible via NHS Evidence (limited) and UKMi (full access for NHS staff) websites

• Contains over 1300 active monographs• Updated daily• In September 2012– 356 monographs updated– 14 evidence based evaluations added– 2,833 registered users

• Monthly newsletter sent to registered users (NHS only)• Reporting facility (NHS only)

UKMi Horizon scanning productsNew Drugs Online (NDO) database

NDO content• Name (generic, company, synonym)• Indication, formulation• Pharmacology, epidemiology• Key trial data• Stage in licensing process (EU, US), anticipated UK launch

date• Orphan status• Links to independent evaluations e.g. NHSC, LNDG • In NICE pipeline

Other publications relevant to medicines budget planning

• NICE/ SMC/ AWMSG guidance• London New Drugs Group reviews• UKMi Prescribing Outlook cost calculator• UKMi New Medicines Profiles• UKMi IFR summaries• UKMi NICE bites• MPC* Evidence summaries: new medicines• Forward Look (Scotland)• Regional advisory committees e.g. NETAG, MTRAC

* Medicines Prescribing Centre (formerly NPC – National Prescribing Centre)

2012/132012/13Key pressures due to Key pressures due to

new medicines or licence new medicines or licence extensionsextensions

Key new medicines due 2012/13Cardiovascular systemApixaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran - stroke prevention, VTE treatment and long term prevention

Defibrotide - hepatic veno-occlusive disease

Lomitapide, mipomersen - hypercholesterolaemia

Respiratory Ivacaftor - cystic fibrosis

Aclidinium, glycopyrrolate - COPD

Pirfenidone - pulmonary fibrosis

Neurology/rheumatology Alemtuzumab, laquinimod, dimethyl fumarate, teriflunomide – multiple sclerosisTofacitinib – Rheumatoid arthritisStrontium ranelate - Osteoarthritis

Miscellaneous Insulin degludec - diabetes.

Ruxolitinib - myelofibrosis

Nalmefene - alcohol dependence

Eltrombopag – thrombocytopenia associated with hepatitis C.

Chemotherapy Vismodegib - basal cell carcinoma.

Pertuzumab - breast cancer

Crizotinib - NSCLC

Regorafenib - colorectal cancer

Abiraterone, sipuleucel-T - prostate cancer

Pazopanib, vintafolide – ovarian cancer

Pixantrone - NHL

Key new medicines due 2012/13

UKMi Prescribing Outlook content 2010 Status of featured drugs April 2012

Reasons for delay

• Licensing process raises questions causing – delay– withdrawal from licensing process– discontinuation

• Once licensed the company may not launch in the UK at all

• Waiting for NICE appraisal/ reimbursement negotiations

What happens when managed entry is not planned?

Amifampridine (Firdapse)

• Licensed Feb 2010 for Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) - prevalence of about 1 per 100,000

• Licensed as orphan drug under exceptional circumstances• LEMS previously treated with unlicensed 3,4-

diaminopyridine base; cost about £1,000/year/patient • Amifampridine is phosphate salt formulation of 3,4-

diaminopyridine; cost about £44,000/year/patient• Significant cost and supply pressures resulted

Firdapse ..why missed?• Ultra orphan drug (v. small no. patients in few centres)• LEMS already treated with comparatively cheap

(although unlicensed) drug• Lack of background ‘noise’

– Exceptional circumstances status shortened the licensing process (more difficult to track)

– Evidence required not the same for orphans as for other drugs– Licensing company relatively small and bought in amifampridine

just prior to submitting for a licence– No publicity about filing for a licence

• Price could not be anticipated

Firdapse learning points

• Be aware of currently unlicensed treatments• Be more aware of orphan drugs (database

amended)• EMA filing data now available • Highlights the fact horizon scanning processes

cannot be comprehensive

What can clinical pharmacists do?

• Utilise horizon scanning resources• Be aware of developments within your

speciality• Liaise with key clinicians and budget holders to

raise awareness and ensure new medicines and licence extensions are planned for

What can clinical pharmacists do?

• Understand NHS funding mechanisms and service issues

• Highlight key developments to horizon scanners

Thank youThank youAny questions?