New agreement on branded drugs for the NHS

Abstract

Potential benefits but some missed opportunities

What Should US Policymakers Learn From International Drug Pricing Transparency Strategies?

“…In the UK, drug prices are regulated by the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access. 9 Under the Voluntary Scheme, drug prices are controlled through the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 9 For each product with a new active ingredient, NICE conducts a health technology assessment comparing the cost-effectiveness of the product to existing alternatives to determine whether the National Health Service (NHS) should cover the drug.…”

“…9 Under the Voluntary Scheme, drug prices are controlled through the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 9 For each product with a new active ingredient, NICE conducts a health technology assessment comparing the cost-effectiveness of the product to existing alternatives to determine whether the National Health Service (NHS) should cover the drug. 9,10 NICE recommendations are binding on the NHS and constrain drug prices by forcing manufacturers to either avoid selling the drug in the UK or to lower list prices and offer discounts until NICE deems the drug cost-effective.…”

“…In Germany, manufacturers independently set a new brand-name product's price for the first year of market availability. 9 In subsequent years, prices are negotiated between drug manufacturers and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds ("Sickness Funds"), an association representing German insurers. 27 For a new product, the Gemeinsame Bundesausschuss (G-BA)-an independent body governing German physicians, hospitals, and health insurers-commissions a government health technology assessment agency to issue a nonbinding, advisory opinion on whether a new drug is innovative or offers a therapeutic benefit over current products.…”

Pharmaceutical expenditure control in Europe: time to move from pricing to budgeting?

“…licensing costs) with internal ‘transfer prices’, which hardly mirror the real costs. Not by chance, the NHS recurs more and more to direct negotiations, which have been extended to cover all new drugs in the last Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme, 9 started this year. However, a general lesson that can still be drawn from the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme is that pharmaceutical price setting per product is a very arguable exercise.…”

NHS spending on branded drugs has been capped

“…Naci and Dixon discuss the new voluntary scheme for branded drugs 1. But the claim that NHS spending on drugs has been rising sharply is not entirely accurate.…”