The UK spends less on medicines than other European countries, which means UK patients don’t always get the widest range of treatments available.
Medicines account for 9% of the UK’s healthcare spend compared to countries like Germany and Italy (both 17%) and France (15%).
Source: King's Fund 'How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries?' report (2023)
Over the last decade, the value of the UK branded medicines market has declined by 11% in real terms. In the same period, the NHS budget grew by 33% in real terms.
Source: House of Commons Library 'NHS Funding and Expenditure' report (2024)
We’re working to change that
For over 70 years, our industry has worked with the UK government to ensure the NHS gets the best possible value from the medicines it uses, while industry gets a return on the huge investments needed to develop new treatments.
The latest example of how this happens is the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAG), which was agreed to ensure the NHS did not overspend its allocated branded medicines budget, even if it ended up using more medicines than forecast. To prevent NHS overspend, companies agreed to pay for branded medicines used by the NHS above a set level.
Unfortunately, despite positive intent from all sides, the Scheme is in crisis, with the UK now significantly out of line with comparable countries in terms of the payment rates companies are required to make on eligible medicines.
This is already impacting patients. Medicines and vaccines have a critical role to play in delivering improved population health, but England has slipped from being first for availability of new medicines compared to other countries in Europe to ninth, in less than ten years. If not addressed, this situation will continue to erode industry’s ability to help deliver an NHS fit for the future. So we are working with all those involved in health policy to find a solution that works for government, the NHS, industry – and, most of all, patients.
