1. NICE Decision Support Unit
Dr Paul Tappenden
Senior Research Fellow
Acting DSU Director
http://www.nicedsu.org.uk/
14/05/2014 © The University of Sheffield

2. Background to DSU
• Established in 2002.
• Formal collaboration between the Universities of
Sheffield (lead), York and Leicester.
• Peripheral members at LSHTM, Brunel and Bristol.
• May also involve highly specialist expertise from
elsewhere.
• Expertise covers all key areas of HTA.
• Commissioned by NICE to provide a research and
training resource to support the Institute's
Technology Appraisal Programme.

3. Main strands of work
1. Appraisal-specific work
• Rapid evaluation of technical issues/analysis
around health economic evaluation/modelling
problems within specific technology appraisals
• An independent yet highly qualified voice
2. Methods development
• Ongoing role in developing Methods guidance for
NICE
• DSU Technical Support Documents
• Training for industry and NICE Appraisal Committee
members
• Other methods work

4. Appraisal-specific work
• ~7 appraisals per year
• Analysis of additional evidence submitted as part
of the appraisal process
• Cetuximab for 1st line metastatic colorectal cancer
• Lapatinib for metastatic breast cancer
• Provision of modelling expertise unavailable
elsewhere (software)
• Donepezil for Alzheimer’s Disease
• Evaluating Patient access schemes (PAS)
• Tocilizumab for Rheumatoid Arthritis

5. The NICE Methods Guide for
Technology Appraisal
• Setting the agenda for, organising and
facilitating the NICE methods guide for
technology appraisal
• Recent work includes managing the update to
the 2008 NICE methods guide – 6 workshops
covering issues around evidence synthesis,
utilities, uncertainty analysis, subgroups etc.
• Update due in 2011/2012
• Conduit for leading academic centres in HTA

6. DSU Technical Support Documents
(TSDs)
• Series of independent, non-prescriptive reports commissioned to
support NICE Methods Guide
• 14 TSDs completed or near completion
• Main areas:
• Health utilities (x5)
• Evidence synthesis (x7)
• Model development and reviewing evidence for informing model
parameters
• Survival modelling using individual patient data
• Use of regression methods in HTA models

7. Other DSU methods research
• Report and related publications demonstrating the
feasibility of applying Value of Information methods.
• Feasibility projects relating to computerised decision
support systems and orphan drugs
• Equity arguments applied to orphan drugs
• Discounting of costs and benefits
• The role of patient valuations of health states
• The incorporation of uncertainty into cost-effectiveness
models
• The incorporation of equity weights into cost
effectiveness models and decision making

8. Methods training
• Bridge between NICE and the pharmaceutical industry in
providing methods training
• “Masterclasses” held:
• Measurement and valuation of health-related quality
of life
• Network meta-analysis & indirect comparisons
• NICE Appraisal Process, modelling, what makes a
good submission, uncertainty analysis

9. Future updates
• Join our mailing list at :
http://www.nicedsu.org.uk