Key facts
- British lawmakers have asked the National Audit Office to investigate the cost of a UK-US drug pricing deal.
- The deal, agreed in December, commits the UK to spending more on new medicines in exchange for three years of zero tariffs from the US on pharmaceutical products.
- The UK government agreed to double its pharma spending to 0.6% of GDP by 2035 and raise its cost-effectiveness threshold for medicines by 25%.
- The government estimates the agreement will cost approximately £1 billion over the current spending review period.
- An independent health think tank analyst, Sally Gainsbury, is appealing a decision to withhold the government's impact assessment of the deal.
British lawmakers have formally requested that the U.K.'s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, investigate the financial implications of a drug pricing deal struck with the Trump administration. Six parliamentary committee chairs sent a letter on Wednesday arguing for transparency regarding the deal's costs and its impact on public expenditure.
The agreement, finalized in December, involves the U.K. committing to increased spending on new medicines in return for three years of zero tariffs on pharmaceutical products from the United States. As part of the deal, the U.K. government has pledged to double its pharmaceutical spending to 0.6% of GDP by 2035 and has allowed the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to raise its cost-effectiveness threshold for medicines by 25%.
The U.K. government has estimated the deal's cost at approximately £1 billion over the current spending review period but has refused to publish a comprehensive impact assessment, citing concerns about prejudicing ongoing policy development, international relations, and commercial interests. Sally Gainsbury, a senior policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust, is appealing a decision to withhold this assessment, arguing the deal will negatively impact the NHS's ability to improve population health by diverting resources towards more expensive treatments.