Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposals outlined in the draft branded drugs statutory scheme will improve access to innovative medicines in the UK.

The proposals outlined in the recent consultation, Proposed changes to the statutory scheme to control the costs of branded health service medicines, ensure that the scheme can continue to fulfil its purpose of safeguarding the financial position of the National Health Service, alongside the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. A copy of the consultation document is attached. The proposals set out in the recent consultation are aimed at constraining the cost of branded health service medicines to a level that balances the interests of patients, the NHS, industry and the taxpayer. The consultation’s impact assessment demonstrates significant overall benefits to patient health, driven by the reinvestment of any savings generated from the statutory scheme in NHS budgets. A copy of the impact assessment, 2018 Statutory Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, is attached.

There is a wider framework in place to ensure the cost-effectiveness of medicines used in the NHS, most importantly, through National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisals. This existing framework remains unchanged by the proposals set out in the consultation, with the NHS still required to fund all medicines approved through a NICE technology appraisal. The Department is committed to ensuring access to clinically and cost-effective medicines, and is working with NHS England and the pharmaceutical industry to support improvements in the speed and rate of access to new medicines for NHS patients.