Change to NHS drug analysis on the table to stave off US tariffs – reports

The NHS may need to pay more for medicines under plans to stave off tariffs threatened by US president Donald Trump, it has been reported.

Politico reported that proposals, including raising the threshold used by England’s NHS spending watchdog by 25%, had been briefed to Washington officials.

The Government has confirmed that it is in “advanced discussions” with the US to “secure the best outcome for the UK”.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) assesses medicines based on a number of factors including clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and the overall cost to the NHS.

This is done using using an assessment called quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), which combines both the length of life gained from a treatment and its impact on quality of life, represented as a number.

In general, Nice considers medicines costing between £20,000 and £30,000 per additional QALY gained to represent good value for money for the NHS.

Increasing the threshold would make it easier for NHS patients to access more expensive drugs, but it would also mean that the health service pays more for medicines overall.

It comes after science minister Lord Patrick Vallance conceded that an increase in the price the NHS pays for medicines will be “necessary” to prevent pharmaceutical investments from continuing to leave the UK.

Major firms have shelved or paused planned UK pharmaceutical industry investments this year, and industry bosses recently told MPs a “difficult” environment and pressure on pricing had made Britain a less attractive investment environment than other countries such as the US.

It is understood that President Trump wants more parity on drug pricing, with drug prices in the US higher than than anywhere else in the world and has threatened impose tariffs of up to 100% on pharmaceutical imports.

A Government spokesperson said: “The pharmaceutical sector and the innovative medicines it produces are critical to our NHS, our economy and the Plan for Change.

“Through our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we’ve committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in spending on innovative medicines compared to the previous decade.

“We’ve secured a landmark economic partnership with the US that includes working together on pharmaceutical exports from the UK whilst improving conditions for pharmaceutical companies here.

“We’re now in advanced discussions with the US administration to secure the best outcome for the UK, reflecting our strong relationship and the opportunities from close partnership with our pharmaceutical industry.”

A Nice spokesperson said: “In a health system such as ours funded by general taxation, it is for the Government to decide how much to spend on health in the context of other spending priorities within the health system and beyond.

“In that context Nice is aware of on-going discussions in Government over the level of medicine spend.”