The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7492 p265
8 March 2008

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DoH gives notice on the PPRS

New arrangements for pricing medicines in the UK will begin in September 2008, following notice of termination of the current pricing scheme by the Department of Health.

The current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme is subject to six months’ notice of termination by either the DoH or the pharmaceutical industry. Last week, the DoH wrote to all manufacturers and suppliers to whom the scheme applies giving them notice that the current agreement would end on 1 September 2008.

Earlier this year, Alan Johnson said that the Government was seeking to negotiate savings of 10 per cent in NHS drug prices (PJ, 5/12 January 2008, p4). However, a DoH spokesman last week refused to give any further details of the negotiations between the Government and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

He would only confirm that any new agreement would be based on four principles in response to the Office of Fair Trading’s report on the current PPRS (PJ, 24 February 2007, p208): value for money, reward for innovation, accelerated uptake of new medicines and sustainability.