NHS: Drugs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Integrated Care Boards evaluate medicines for clinical effectiveness in a timely manner.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Fezolinetant is a non-hormonal medicine used to treat moderate to severe hot flushes and night sweats linked to menopause. It may be used where hormone replacement therapy is not suitable.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance on 31 March 2026 recommending fezolinetant as an option for treating these symptoms when hormone replacement therapy is unsuitable. NICE is the independent body that assesses whether medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on clinical and cost effectiveness. Once NICE recommends a medicine, the NHS in England is normally legally required to fund it within three months of the final guidance. Integrated care boards are therefore expected to make fezolinetant available in line with NICE’s recommendation. Decisions about whether it is right for an individual patient remain for clinicians to make with their patients.
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