Government pushes ahead with plan for cheaper drugs deal for NHS

doi:10.1136/bmj.39300.405822.DB

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Nicholas Timmins, public policy editor, Financial Times

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

The radical move comes after a report from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in February that recommended such a shift from 2010, when the current 50 year old pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS) becomes due for its five yearly renewal (BMJ 2007;334:383 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39133.543438.DB) .

The industry had been expecting a response but not last …