 The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review ICER, a small but influential Boston-based research group, has signed a deal with private technology company Aetion to help it use patient health data in its reports on whether individual drugs are priced properly. Large national regulators, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and United Kingdoms National Institute for Health and Care Excellence NICE, are considering increasing the use of data gathered outside of clinical trials on the effectiveness of treatments, often referred to as real-world data. The FDA is running a pilot project using Aetions database of insurance claims to replicate clinical trial results, as part of a requirement to comply with healthcare legislation called the 21st Century Cures Act. 