NHS could pay 25% more for medicines to end impasse

Ministers are preparing to raise the prices the NHS pays pharmaceutical firms for medicines by up to 25% after weeks of intensive talks with the Donald Trump administration and drugmakers.

- Julia Kollewe Eleni Courea

The government has drawn up fresh proposals to end a standoff with the industry over pricing, including changing the cost-effectiveness thresholds under which new medications are assessed for use on the NHS, according to industry sources.

The row has been cited as one of the reasons why big companies in the sector, including MSD (known as Merck in the US) and AstraZeneca, have cancelled or paused UK investments in recent weeks, while increasing investments in the US.

The health department is in a standoff with the Treasury and No 10 on how to fund the deal, with Downing Street resisting pressure to commit new funds for medicines in next month's budget.

The Liberal Democrats immediately attacked the move, first reported by the Politico website, asking how much it would cost and whether it would lead to cuts elsewhere in the NHS.

The science secretary, Patrick Vallance, has publicly acknowledged that the UK's spending on new medicines needs to rise, from 9% of overall NHS spend, which is below drug spending in the US and many other European countries.

The main element of the plan is thought to include raising by 25% the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) cost-effectiveness threshold, which has been unchanged since 1999.