6 March 2014 - The new pricing deal, agreed by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and the Government, will be seen in action for the first time this month as companies prepare to make their first quarterly payments to the NHS following the end of the first quarter sales.

134 companies, representing 93% of the UK, branded industry joined the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS)¹, which was agreed in November last year following the most complex pricing negotiations ever experienced.

At the time of the deal being reached, the ABPI called for the deal to go hand-in-hand with action by the Government and the NHS, asking for them to respond positively to the unique opportunity to demonstrate their active commitment to improving patients’ access to the latest medicines. Under the new five year voluntary PPRS, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to keep NHS expenditure on branded medicines flat for two years, with industry underwriting any further expenditure by the NHS within agreed boundaries.

For more details, go to: http://www.abpi.org.uk/media-centre/newsreleases/2014/Pages/060314.aspx