Infliximab, adalimumab and golimumab for treating moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis after the failure of conventional therapy

5.1 Section 7(6) of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Constitution and Functions) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Functions) Regulations 2013 requires clinical commissioning groups, NHS England and, with respect to their public health functions, local authorities to comply with the recommendations in this appraisal within 3 months of its date of publication.

5.2 When NICE recommends a treatment 'as an option', the NHS must make sure it is available within the period set out in the paragraph above. This means that, if a patient has ulcerative colitis and the doctor responsible for their care thinks that infliximab, adalimumab or golimumab is the right treatment, it should be available for use, in line with NICE's recommendations.

5.3 The Department of Health and Merck Sharp & Dohme have agreed that golimumab will be available to the NHS with a patient access scheme which makes the 100 mg dose of golimumab available to the NHS at the same cost as the 50 mg dose. It is the responsibility of the company to communicate details of the discount to the relevant NHS organisations. Any enquiries from NHS organisations about the patient access scheme should be directed to Merck Sharp & Dohme Customer Service (01992 452094).