Morphine: where the agencies disagree
This page collects every recorded health technology assessment decision for one molecule across the agencies in our archive, and compares them. The comparison is the point: each agency publishes its own verdict, none publishes how that verdict sits against the others.
What the record shows
PBAC (Australia) recommended or restricted morphine, while PHARMAC (New Zealand) did not recommend it.
HAS (France) has been harder on morphine than on its own caseload: it refused 6 of 12 decisive submissions here (50%), against a base rate of 11% across everything it has assessed.
The file has been open for more than a decade: 15.8 years separate the first record, 3 Sep 2008 at HAS (France), from the most recent, 2024 at PBAC (Australia).
No assessment is on file from SMC (Scotland), TLV (Sweden), CIPM (Spain) and G-BA (Germany), each among the eight highest-volume agencies here.
4 distinct indication wordings are recorded for morphine by the agencies that label one in English (AWMSG and PBAC).
3 of these 21 records carry a year of decision but no day, so any interval quoted here is approximate to within a year.
HAS (France) was first to assess morphine, on 3 Sep 2008; PBAC (Australia) did not open a file until 2016 — a wide spread of 7.8 years between the earliest and latest system to look at it.
The record arrives in waves: 5 separate years each carry two or more decisions, spread across 12 years in total.
2 of the 4 agencies here assessed morphine more than once, HAS (France) most often at 16 entries — repeat review is the norm for this molecule rather than the exception.
Coverage is narrow: only 4 of the 18 agencies here have assessed morphine.
The full ledger for morphine reads 9 recommended, 7 not recommended, 4 other and 1 not assessed.
Decisions on file
| Agency | Date | Indication as recorded | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBAC (Australia) | 2024 | Severe pain, cancer pain, severe disabling pain | Recommended | source |
| HAS (France) | 13 Oct 2021 | Listing (Transparency Committee) | SMR substantial · ASMR V | source |
| HAS (France) | 13 Jun 2018 | Listing renewal (Transparency Committee) | SMR insufficient | source |
| PHARMAC (New Zealand) | 8 Nov 2012 | Hospital listing | PTAC advice: Not recommended for inclusion (HML) · decision reached | source |
| AWMSG (Wales) | 1 Dec 2008 | Relief of post-operative pain following major orthopaedic, abdominal or pelvic surgery | outside AWMSG criteria | source |
16 further decisions for morphine, across 2 agencies, are not shown here. They link to 9 further source documents.
Related molecules
- fentanyl — same ATC class N02A — Analgesics
- tramadol — same ATC class N02A — Analgesics
- oxycodone — same ATC class N02A — Analgesics
- hydromorphone — same ATC class N02A — Analgesics
- tocilizumab — also decided by HAS in 2021Q4
- cannabidiol — also decided by HAS in 2021Q4
Coverage: 21 decisions for morphine from 4 agencies, 2008 to 2024. Data to 7 Sep 2026. ATC class N02A — Analgesics. How this page is produced. Compiled by Altima Partners; queries: sales@altimapartners.co.uk.