UK And Pharma Reach Deal To Cap Prices, But Bitterness Remains

For the first time, the UK has instituted a pricing policy on brand-name prescription drugs that comes with a cap. Under the five-year plan, the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, or PPRS, drugmakers have agreed that the costs for their medicines will remain flat in 2014 and 2015, but will rise no more than 2 percent in the following three years. The UK pursued such a deal in order to keep a lid on drug costs, which exceeded $19 billion in 2011 and 2012. The UK Department of Health noted that the growth in prescription drug expenditures averaged five percent in previous years. The previous agreement generated savings through an agreed price cut on branded medicines sold to the National Health Service, but with no upper limit on overall cost. “This agreement ensures NHS patients will receive the best and most advanced medicines in the world while managing the cost,” says Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a statement. “UK pharmaceutical companies have responded to the challenges we face as a country, both in terms of the increased demand for medicines and pressure on public spending. I hope in return we have given them the certainty and backing they need to flourish as a sector both here and in the global market.” By agreeing to the plan, drugmakers will presumably have more confidence in the spending that can be expected each year along with increased use of newer medicines. The deal follows the threat of a mandated price cut of at least 15 percent for those drugmak...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs