NHS: Drugs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has held with a) Pharmaceutical companies, b) Pharmaceutical industry groups and c) patient groups and charities on the US-UK Pharmaceuticals deal.
Answered by Dr Zubir Ahmed
Costs of the United States and United Kingdom pharmaceuticals trade deal will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more medicines. Total costs over the spending review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. However, the final costs will depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake.
We have no plans to publish an impact assessment for the deal. Innovative medicines are critical to the future success and sustainability of the National Health Service. It is only by harnessing the power of new technologies that we can transform the lives of patients with currently untreatable conditions. Medicines are more than just a cost, bringing major societal and economic benefits, helping people stay in work, reducing pressure on public services, or giving patients a second chance at life.
The deal will be funded by allocations made at the Spending Review, where record funding for the NHS was secured. Future funding will be settled at the next Spending Review.
Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are routinely published quarterly on the GOV.UK website in arrears. Officials from the Department have engaged extensively with patient groups, pharmaceutical companies and trade bodies. The Government has committed to working with industry in the coming months on the future of medicines pricing and will also engage patient groups in this process.
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