The pharmaceutical industry has warned the UK’s new government about the impact of unprecedented industry payments on medicines supply in the short term and their potential to reduce inward investment in the long term. Along with economic pressures, these considerations will be among the factors forming the backdrop to negotiations on a deal that will determine pricing and access for branded medicines access from 2024 onwards.

Companies are keen to know how the disease severity modifier and a more flexible approach to uncertainty will be applied to health technology appraisals for drugs in practice. They also want reassurance that there will be consistency in deliberations by NICE’s various committees and advisory groups.

The UK government has confirmed plans to raise payments made by drug companies in the statutory scheme for branded medicines to 24.4% for 2023, despite clear warnings from industry that the approach is unsustainable and jeopardizes the delivery of the government's ambitions for life sciences in the post-Brexit UK.

England’s health technology assessment institute is exploring solutions to help deal with its increased workload, high staff turnover and challenges in recruiting people with the expertise needed.

Questions are being raised about the credibility of the UK’s voluntary and statutory drug pricing schemes because of uncertainty over the payment percentages companies will have to pay in future.

NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I) agreed 16 pricing and access deals with drug companies in 2021, ten of which can be considered ‘smart.’ The fact that these were achieved against a backdrop of COVID-19 is seen as impressive.