UK move to inflate pharma profits threatens NHS

Statement in response to reports of a deal to increase NICE thresholds

Reports saying the government is preparing to dramatically increase the price the NHS pays for medicines is deeply troubling news for patients and the NHS. We are at risk of importing America’s disastrous drug pricing crisis and all the suffering it causes.

This is a coordinated shakedown of the UK taxpayer by big pharma and Donald Trump focused solely on increasing the industry’s already inflated profits. The government should not be giving in to this bullying.

According to independent academic analysis the UK already spends more money than it should on overpriced medicines. Spending even more will lead to worse health outcomes for NHS patients - particularly if this increased spend comes from the current NHS budget, draining more money from vital services and care.

Instead of caving in to big pharma’s greed the government should be tackling the outsized monopoly power the industry has been wielding to hold the UK and NHS patients’ lives to ransom. It is time they take steps to establish a system for developing and manufacturing medicines that puts patients first.

Diarmaid McDonald, Director, Just Treatment