Britain’s cost-effectiveness healthcare watchdog NICE says it will rule on Monday whether Alzheimer’s drugs that can help, but not cure, some patients should continue to be used within the state health service.The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) outraged patients and drug makers last year with a preliminary decision that so-called anti-cholinesterase drugs were not worth the money.But it put off implementing a ban on using the pills in newly diagnosed Alzheimer’s patients pending more evidence of their potential benefits in certain patient groups.The final NICE ruling is likely to be monitored by governments around the world, who increasingly have to weigh up the benefits of modern medicines against their price.
