Slippery slope

The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is breaking new ground by seeking to link the price of Soliris eculizumab to Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s R&D investment in the Orphan drug; the question is whether the biotech will be able to reach a reimbursement deal without crossing that Rubicon.

Presented with an outstanding clinical efficacy data package and without a cost-effectiveness evaluation to poke holes in, NICE appears to be reaching for a new hammer to beat down the price of Soliris, which in itself is not surprising...