Government pushes ahead with plan for cheaper drugs deal for NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.39300.405822.DB

BMJ 2007;335:273 (11 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.39300.405822.DB

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Government pushes ahead with plan for cheaper drugs deal for NHS

Nicholas Timmins, public policy editor, Financial Times

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Ministers want to switch the way the NHS pays for the £8bn( ${euro}$ 12bn; $16bn) worth of branded drugs that it buys each year.They want to move to a system in which drug prices are basedon the benefits they bring to patients—and it seems theywant to do so quickly.

The radical move comes after a report from the Office of FairTrading (OFT) in February that recommended such a shift from2010, when the current 50 year old pharmaceutical price regulationscheme (PPRS) becomes due for its five yearly renewal (BMJ 2007;334:383doi: 10.1136/bmj.39133.543438.DB) .

The industry had been expecting a response but not last week'sannouncement that ministers want a renegotiation now.

A "value based" scheme would aim to allow higher prices fordrugs that are more effective—a move that the OFT argueswould stimulate innovation. Lower prices would be paid for moremarginal . . . [Full text of this article]

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