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Three in four medicines approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) were prescribed more between January and December 2025 compared with the previous 12 months, according to official figures released today.

Of the 244 medicines included in the NHS Business Services Authority’s Innovation Scorecard, which reports on the use of NICE-approved medicines and medical technologies in the NHS in England, 220 were prescribed in all eight previous quarters and 162 of those showed an increase.

That equated to 73.6 per cent of NICE-approved medicines. The 18 medicine groupings in the scorecard were acute coronary syndrome, Covid, cystic fibrosis, EGFR Non-small-cell lung cancer, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, hATTR polyneuropathy, hepatitis C, icosapent ethyl, long-term insomnia, migraine, multiple sclerosis, primary hypercholesterolaemia, prostate cancer, severe asthma, SGLT-2 inhibitors, smoking cessation and stroke.

Sixteen of those 18 medicine groups saw an increase in prescribing. Covid and hepatitis C medicines were prescribed less frequently than the previous 12 months.

“The scorecard provides a visual overview of how NICE-approved treatments are being adopted at a local level, including NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Boards, and both national and NHS England regional levels,” the NHSBSA said.