12 March 2018 - “The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” ― Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Is the ICER becoming the United States’ counterpart to England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the organization that evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health strategies for that country’s health system? If so, what questions does that raise?

ICER is a private, nonprofit organisation that assesses the value of pharmaceuticals and other technologies. The group’s reports have garnered headlines and stirred debate over high prescription drug prices. ICER has existed for a decade, but its scope and national profile have both grown in recent years. In October 2017, ICER announced a new $13.9 million, three-year grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation that will markedly expand the organisation’s activities, including more frequent evidence updates and production of an annual report on drug price increases, among other changes. In a sign of ICER’s growing influence, Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced this past weekend that they will “offer U.S. payers that agree to reduce burdensome access barriers for high-risk patients a further reduced net price for Praluent (alirocumab) Injection in alignment with a new value assessment for high-risk patients from ICER.”

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