The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7484 p4
5/12 January 2008

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News summary

Government seeks 10 per cent cut in drug prices in new PPRS agreement, FT reports

Savings of 10 per cent in the prices the NHS pays for drugs are being sought by the Government, Health Secretary Alan Johnson revealed in an interview in the Financial Times this week.

Mr Johnson said he planned to use talks on the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme to generate substantial savings in the NHS drugs budget.

The FT says it understands that the Government has staked out an initial position in negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry to cut the NHS £11bn annual medicines bill by £1bn.

The Department of Health and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry have declined to comment on the content of negotiations around a potential new PPRS agreement, but say that any new agreement will be based on value for money, reward for innovation, accelerated uptake of new medicines and sustainability.