Thank you for contacting me about NHS medicine prices and investment in the pharmaceutical industry.
I share your concern that since taking office the Government’s economic and tax policies have contributed to several pharmaceutical companies withdrawing or reducing their investments into the UK. This has put the UK in a worse bargaining position when negotiating with the US on medicine pricing.
On Monday 1 December 2025, the Government agreed a deal which will see zero tariffs being applied on pharmaceuticals exported from the UK into the US.
As part of the deal, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is raising the threshold that it uses to assess what drugs are cost effective to be funded through the NHS. A consultation about these proposed changes has recently concluded.
While the deal may lead to more medicines being made available in the UK, as you have highlighted, it will also lead to higher NHS spending on medicines. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, has publicly stated that the Government “will not cut NHS budgets to fund the pharma deal.” However, he has not clarified where the funding for these higher costs will come from.
The Government must provide urgent clarity on this issue, given the Office for Budget Responsibility described higher spending on branded medicines as a major risk to Health and Social Care spending during the Spending Review period to 2029/30.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
