Trade Agreements: USA

(asked on 23rd February 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of the December 2025 medicines agreement with the US on costs to the NHS in England.


Answered by
Zubir Ahmed Portrait
Zubir Ahmed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 26th February 2026

Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and safeguard our medicines supply chain.

Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.

This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.

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