AWTTC identifies licensed and off-label medicines that are likely to need assessment by AWMSG. This is done through direct evidence gathering by AWTTC, or by evidence submission or request for assessment from stakeholders including: the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare professionals, patient organisations and commissioning organisations.
Sources of information include (but are not limited to): UK PharmaScan, Specialist Pharmacy Service prescribing outlook reports, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Innovation Observatory evidence briefings, Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) database, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) topic selection and NICE work programme and the NHS England (NHSE) work programme.
AWTTC's horizon scanning team routinely gathers information about new medicines, and new indications and formulations for currently available medicines, alongside those that are in development and are expected to be licensed and launched in the UK. More information about AWTTC’s horizon scanning, including its role in supporting financial and health service planning, is available at https://awttc.nhs.wales/horizon-scanning
AWTTC invites pharmaceutical companies to complete and submit a medicine assessment form (available in mid January 2025) for licensed medicines that meet the criteria for assessment by AWMSG.
Healthcare professionals are also invited to identify when an AWMSG assessment is required for a licensed medicine. They may complete a medicines request form for healthcare professionals or email AWTTC at awttc@wales.nhs.uk.
AWTTC also welcomes requests for medicines assessments from patient organisations; please contact AWTTC at awttc@wales.nhs.uk
The potential benefits of off-label medicines for clearly defined groups of patients are routinely identified by Health Board IPFR panels, the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, Health Board Chief Pharmacists, formulary pharmacists and local formulary committees, or by clinical experts, usually through their specialist group or network.
These healthcare professionals can ask for an off-label medicine(s) to be considered for assessment by contacting AWTTC directly at awttc@wales.nhs.uk or by completing a medicines request form for healthcare professionals. AWTTC plays a central co-ordinating role in the IPFR process, using All Wales IPFR data to also identify potential groups of patients.
The assessment of off-label medicines is driven by unmet clinical need identified by healthcare professionals in NHS Wales; requests from pharmaceutical companies are not accepted.