National Institute for Health Research

Kleijnen Systematic Reviews Ltd is a "Centre of Excellence" for Technology Assessment Reviews (TARs), appointed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).



TARs provide a reliable and rigorous evidence assessment of the benefits, harms and costs of particular healthcare treatments for those who plan, provide or receive care in the NHS.

TARs are commissioned to meet the urgent needs of national NHS decision-making bodies and policy customers, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). TARs are most commonly produced to inform NICE Appraisal Committee guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS in England and Wales. 

Current projects include:

• Ovarian cancer biomarkers

• Metreleptin for treating lipodystrophy [ID861]

• Erenumab for treating migraine [ID1188]



New projects will appear on a regular basis.



Completed projects include:

• Rofluminast for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Review of TA244)[ID984]

• Glecaprevir with pibrentasvir for chronic hepatitis C [ID1085]

• Nivolumab for treating metastatic or unresectable urothelial cancer [ID995]

• Ribociclib in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for previously untreated advanced or metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer [ID1026]

• Pembrolizumab for treating relapsed or refractory, 3rd or 4th line classical hodgkin's lymphoma [ID1062]

• Arsenic trioxide for treating acute promyelocytic leukaemia [ID446]
• Ixekizumab for treating active psoriatic arthritis (after DMARDs) [ID1194]

• Burosumab for treating x-linked hypophosphataemia [ID1151]

• Naltrexone-bupropion (prolonged release) for treating obesity and overweight [ID757]

• Obinutuzumab for untreated advanced follicular lymphoma [ID1020]

• Nivolumab for treating recurrent or metastatic squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck after platinum-based chemotherapy [ID971]

• Obeticholic acid for treating primary biliary cirrhosis [ID785]

• Ticagrelor for the secondary prevention of atherothrombotic events after myocardial infarction [ID813]

• Faecal immunochemical tests to triage low risk populations for suspected colorectal cancer referrals in primary care

• Pomalidomide for treating relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma previously treated with both lenalidomide and bortezomib (Review of 338)[ID985]

• Ixekizumab for moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis [ID904]

• Ramucirumab for treating advanced gastric cancer or gastro-oesophageal junction adenocarcinoma previously treated with chemotherapy [ID741]

• Grazoprevir elbasvir for treating chronic hepatitis C [ID842]

• Sebelipase alfa for treating lysosomal acid lipase deficiency [ID737]

• Asfotase alfa for treating paediatric-onset hypophosphatasia [ID758]

• Pegaspargase for treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia [ID863]

• Trifluridine in combination with tipiracil hydrochloride for treating metastatic colorectal cancer after standard therapy [ID876]

• Secukinumab for treating ankylosing spondylitis after inadequate response to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or TNF-alpha inhibitors [ID719]

• Tolvaptan for treating autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease [ID652]

• Bortezomib for previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma [ID724]

• Sofosbuvir and velpatasvir for treating chronic hepatitis C [ID921]

• Enzalutamide for the treatment of metastatic hormone relapsed prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen (ID600)
• Bendamustine in combination with rituximab for the first-line treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma [ID434]
• ImmunoCAP ISAC for multiplex allergen testing in patients with complex allergic disease
• The Elecsys Troponin T High-Sensitive test to aid the diagnosis and risk stratification of acute myocardial infarction in people with acute chest pain
• The ROTEM Delta point-of-care analyser to assist with the diagnosis, management and monitoring of haemostasis during and after surgery
• Naloxegol for treating opioid-induced constipation [ID674]
• Sensor-augmented pump therapy in diabetes using the MiniMed Paradigm Veo System
• BRAHMS PCT Sensitive Kryptor assay for the diagnosis and monitoring of sepsis
• Assessment to confirm an anaphylactic episode and the decision to refer after emergency treatment for a suspected anaphylactic episode 
• Apixaban for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in people undergoing elective knee and hip replacement surgery [ID518]
• Golimumab for Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)
• Tocilizumab for the treatment of Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
• Roflumilast for the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Ivacaftor for Cystic Fibrosis G551D mutation
• Mannitol Dry Powder for Inhalation for the Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
• Computed tomography (CT) scanners for cardiac imaging – Somatom Definition Flash, Aquilion One, Brilliance iCT and Discovery CT750 HD 
• SonoVue® (sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles) - contrast agent for contrast enhanced ultrasound in liver imaging
• SeHCAT (Tauroselcholic [75 selenium] acid) for the investigation of bile acid malabsorption (BAM) and measurement of bile acid pool loss 
• Rapid fetal fibronectin (fFN) testing to predict pre-term birth in women with symptoms of premature labour: A systematic review and cost effectiveness analysis
• Axitinib for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma after failure of prior systematic treatment
• Lenalidomide for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes associated with deletion 5q cytogenetic abnormality (ID480) 

• Therascreen KRAS RGQ PCR Kit for the identification of KRAS mutations in adults with metastatic colorectal cancer

• Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) mutation testing in adults with locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer

• Pomalidomide for treating relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma previously treated with both lenalidomide and bortezomib (ID666)

• Abiraterone for the treatment of chemotherapy naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (ID503)

• The use of fenestrated and branched endovascular grafts (fEVAR & bEVAR) for juxta-renal and thoraco-abdominal aneurysms

• A comparison and discussion of the methods, findings, adaptability and decisions resulting from two reviews of vision screening in children undertaken in the UK and Germany