About us - UK Pharmascan
What is UK PharmaScan?
UK PharmaScan is a database of information on new medicines, indications and formulations in the pharmaceutical pipeline. Pharmaceutical companies enter data from 3 years before UK availability or start of phase III clinical trials (whichever is earlier) up until availability in the UK. NHS England, NHS Improvement and horizon scanning organisations use the data for:
- pathway and system planning
- identification of transformative medicines for the Accelerated Access Collaborative
- development of Health Technology Appraisal (HTA) schedules by NICE, SMC and AWMSG
- production of briefings and resources for the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales
- local planning such as formulary development, service design and budgeting
- informing national planning and prioritising engagement with companies.
Which horizon scanning organisations have access to UK PharmaScan?
All of the UK’s national horizon scanning organisations, NHS England and NHS Improvement use UK PharmaScan to enable early engagement in planning and preparing the NHS for the introduction of new medicines.
Horizon scanning is a vital tool to understand the future healthcare environment and UK
PharmaScan is a key source of
data to help NHS England and NHS Improvement plan for future healthcare interventions. UK PharmaScan is
therefore an essential first step
for manufacturers in their market access preparations.
The NIHR Innovation Observatory (NIHRIO) uses UK PharmaScan to ensure that information
on new and repurposed medicines,
that are actively being monitored, is up-to-date and reliable. This allows us to produce
timely and accurate horizon
scanning intelligence to notify NICE and other national organisations to support
decision-making and planning for the
future.
NICE uses UK PharmaScan to track licensing information as part of the topic selection,
scoping and assessment stages of the Technology Appraisal and Highly Specialised Technologies
programmes. This ensures we are able to produce national guidance that enables funding and
patient access to medicines within a few months of marketing authorisation.
UK PharmaScan is our go-to resource for information on UK pipeline products. It is able
to provide data for NHS planning
purposes that no other resource can.
UK PharmaScan is a key source of information in the production of our annual horizon
scanning report, Forward Look,
which informs financial planning for emerging new medicines in all Scotland’s Health
Boards and National Specialist
Services. It also highlights new medicines, indications and formulations for future
health technology appraisal in
Scotland.
Information in UK PharmaScan is key in helping us support health boards and trusts
across NHS Wales plan for new
medicines, indications and formulations, in particular those with significant budgetary
and/or service delivery
implications.
How is UK PharmaScan funded?
NHS England, NHS Improvement and horizon scanning organisations each pay an equal annual fee to cover the costs of maintaining the database and any required future developments. The sponsoring department in government is the Department of Health and Social Care.
How is UK PharmaScan managed?
An Oversight and Governance Committee is responsible for:
- ensuring appropriate governance arrangements are in place and applied
- developing recommendations for evolution and future developments of the database
- resolving disputes between any parties engaged with the database.
The Committee includes representatives from:
- NHS England and NHS Improvement
- the horizon scanning organisations
- pharmaceutical companies
- the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
- the NHS
- the Department of Health and Social Care.
It also has a lay representative and an independent Chair.
A UK PharmaScan User Group supports the committee by identifying and addressing user issues, making recommendations for technical enhancements, and undertaking communications programmes to optimise pharmaceutical company engagement.
Who manages the technical aspects of UK PharmaScan?
Technical management of UK PharmaScan is the responsibility of NICE commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care for the website development and maintenance. NICE reports to the UK PharmaScan Oversight and Governance Committee and is an active member of the UK PharmaScan User Group.
The 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access between the pharmaceutical industry and UK Government
The importance of timely and accurate information is reinforced in the 2019 Voluntary Scheme which restates the shared ambition that the NHS must have complete and accurate information about products coming through the pipeline (paragraphs 3.4-3.9). Pharmaceutical companies are required to provide timely, accurate and comprehensive information on products, indications and formulations in development.
