Introduction to the NHS Medicinal Products Pricing Issue
The price that the NHS pays for medicinal products has to rise to stop a wave of pharmaceutical investments that leave Great Britain, said Science Minister Patrick Vallance. His comments have recently followed by some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies during the break or scrapped in the UK. Critics in this sector say that low prices for new medication, lack of state investments and tariff pressure from US President Donald Trump have pushed away companies from Great Britain.
The Need for a Price Increase
Lord Vallance said that the price increase will be a necessary part of the solution to this problem. "Where the additional money would come from the numbers of higher prices, the matter is a matter for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance to find out," he added. The Minister of Science spoke at the opening of the US vaccine giant Moderna’s new center in Oxfordshire, in which millions of flu and covid jabs are produced.
The Impact of Low Prices on Pharmaceutical Investments
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that there was "a live conversation between government departments and the pharmaceutical industry" about drug prices. Lord Vallance added: "We have to have any kind with a deal … because it is in the interest of the economy in the interest of the patient." According to the government, Moderna is investing more than 1 billion GBP in British research and development as part of a 10-year partnership in order to create new treatments and increase pandemic resilience.
Recent Investment Decisions by Pharmaceutical Companies
The commitment made three years ago is in contrast to Merck’s decision this month to shout an investment of 1 billion GBP in Great Britain and AstraZeneca to break an investment of 200 million GBP in Cambridge. In the meantime, Novartis said that NHS patients will lose access to new most modern treatments due to sudden costs. It said it was not to consider in Great Britain for large new investments in manufacture, research or advanced technology due to "systemic barriers".
Comparison of Medicines Expenditure
Another pharmaceutical company told that the United Kingdom was "probably the worst country in Europe" for drug prices. In the past 10 years, the British expenditure for medicines has dropped from 15% of the NHS budget to 9%, while the rest of the industrialized countries spend between 14% and 20%. Elsewhere, Trump has put pressure on pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices and invest more in the USA.
Ongoing Conversations and Negotiations
Last month, the talks between road and pharmaceutical companies broke off the costs of medication for Great Britain. The British government said at the time when it brought a "generous and unprecedented offer to accelerate growth" in the pharmaceutical sector. However, on Wednesday he followed a more conciliatory tone and said: "It is a live conversation – not only in Germany with the industry, but also internationally with the USA." "There is an interface between the government’s growth ambitions, the government’s health ambitions, the government’s trading sampling and bilateral relationships with the United States," he added.
