The company (or person who suggested the topic to NICE, if these people are different) are informed about the selection and routing decision.
Topic selection decisions are published on the NICE website with the:
topic name and identification number
indication it was considered for
decision (if the topic was selected, confirmation of the routing, and any further information required)
reason for the decision, including any information on equalities that contributed to the decision
date of the decision.
Topics that are not selected can be reconsidered if the NICE team is made aware of new information that addresses the reasons for non-selection.
Once a topic has been selected, it is scheduled for NICE guidance development. Topics that do not have UK regulatory approval or that have not been launched in the UK are scheduled so that the guidance publishes alongside or as early as possible after approval and launch. Topics that already have UK regulatory approval and have been launched in the UK are scheduled for development as soon as possible. Scheduling for development considers the existing NICE guidance development schedule and external factors such as ongoing studies to generate relevant evidence.
In some exceptional cases, the company (or person who suggested the topic to NICE, if these people are different) may consider a routing decision made by the topic selection oversight panel to be inappropriate and may raise a formal challenge to the decision.
A formal challenge can be made on the grounds that the routing criteria have not been appropriately applied during decision making. Challenges outlining the rationale for reconsideration must be submitted via email to topic.selection@nice.org.uk within 7 calendar days of notification of the panel's routing decision. If a challenge is submitted, this may impact or delay the final scheduling of the evaluation.
All challenges will be reviewed and if the challenge is accepted, the topic will be reconsidered by the topic selection oversight panel. If appropriate, the outcome of the reconsideration step will be ratified by a member of the NICE executive team.
Sometimes the topic's routing decision may need to change because new information is identified during the scoping phase of guidance development, or a routing decision has been formally challenged. NICE reviews the topic with a rationale for the reconsideration, and if required, the topic selection oversight panel are asked to confirm.
The outcome of the reconsideration and the rationale are published on the topic page on the NICE website.