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Streeting's row with pharma firms grows as talks fail on NHS pricing
The Guardian
|August 23, 2025
A row between Wes Streeting and pharmaceutical companies has intensified after drugmakers rejected the health secretary's latest offer on NHS drug pricing.
The two sides failed to reach agreement by a midday deadline yesterday, meaning the mechanism under which the NHS claws back some of the money it pays for medicines will continue at a rate the industry said was "unsustainable" and could ultimately disadvantage patients.
At the heart of the dispute is the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth (VPAG), under which pharma companies agree the amount of revenues from drug sales to the NHS that they have to pay back.
The two sides have been in acrimonious negotiations for months after the government unexpectedly raised the rate last December to almost 23% for 2025 for newer medicines.
This story is from the August 23, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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