New agreement on branded drugs for the NHS

BMJ

18 January 2019 - The new Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access began on 1 January and was negotiated between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. 

The scheme replaces the 2014 iteration of the Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulation Scheme.

The new scheme aims to speed up access to cost effective branded drugs for patients. For the NHS, the objectives are to maintain the affordability and predictability of spending, and to deliver value for money. More broadly, the scheme seeks to deliver a net benefit to the UK economy overall, support the UK life sciences industry (including pharmaceutical companies), and encourage innovation.

On speeding up access, the scheme allows enhanced horizon scanning for new drugs and substantially faster assessment by NICE of “the most transformative and best value drugs.”

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Michael Wonder

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Michael Wonder