The clinician impact and financial cost to the NHS of litigation over pregabalin: a cohort study in English primary care.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Following litigation over pregabalin's second-use medical patent for neuropathic pain, National Health Service (NHS) England was required by the court to instruct general practitioners (GPs) to prescribe the branded form (Lyrica) for pain. Pfizer's patent was found invalid in 2015, a ruling subject to ongoing appeals. If the Supreme Court appeal in February 2018, whose judgement is awaited, is unsuccessful, the NHS can seek to reclaim excess prescribing costs. We set out to describe the variation in prescribing of pregabalin as branded Lyrica, geographically and over time; to determine how clinicians responded to the NHS England instruction to GPs; and to model excess costs to the NHS attributable to the legal judgements.

Setting

English primary care.

Participa

SUBMITTER: Croker R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6009558 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature