UK Drug Prices
UK Drug Prices The Independent today (18 Jan) had a piece about the plight of the NHS all over the front page.
One of the things they highlighted is that the pharmaceutical companies charge the NHS up to 20% more for listed drugs than some other European countries pay.
If true, how scandalous and how much more will the UK pay for Herceptin than other countries?
Any comments - BCC and anyone else?
Drug Costs We have paid more for some stuff for years (can’t think of any logical reason why there should be differences).
The new pricing “deal” between the industry and DoH last year did enforce a 7% price cut for branded medicines but continued to allow the companies to set their own prices for new stuff (? In France this has to be negotiated with the government)
A possible reason According to an NHS analyst friend, the government pushes a hard bargain on generics, with some of the lowest prices around, but allows a large profit margin for new products out of concern for the competitiveness of the UK pharmaceuticals industry. I don’t know what the French government does for Sanofi-Aventis.