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REGULATORY & HEALTHCARE NEWS

~CEtof~tuadkzananrlvrr The UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) will provide a rapid appraisal of zanamivir prior to the upcoming influenza season, reports the 1Ancet. 1 Zanamivir acts to moderate flu symptoms and to shorten the period of illness. 2 The aim of the fast track procedure is 'to produce preliminary guidance in the early winter', according to NICE's communications director Anne Toni Rogers. 1 Zanamivir, along with a similar product oseltamivir, will undergo a full appraisal in 2000. NICE has already released a list of treatments scheduled for evaluation in late 1999. * Along with cyclo-oxygenase type 2 inhibitors, evaluations in 2000 will focus on: riluzole for motor neuron disease; methylphenidate for hyperactivity in children; ribavirin plus interferon-a for hepatitis C; orlistat and sibutramine for obesity; galantamine and thiazolidinediones [glitazones]; and glycoprotein lib/lila antagonists. 1 While welcoming the proposed programme of evaluations, which will support physicians' decisions on appropriate therapy, Vivien Nathanson from the British Medical Association warns that 'it is vital that the guidelines are backed up with adequate funding'. *see PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 225: 11, 14 Aug 1999; 800762927 1. Ashraf H. UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence sets out its agenda. Lancet 354: 578, 14 Aug 1999 2. Jones J. Influenza drug to undergo fast track assessment by NICE. British Medical Journa1319: 400, 14 Aug 1100763015 1999

PhannacoEconomics & Outcomes News 21 Aug 1999 No. 226

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