Overview
- Warren Stephens warned that U.S. drugmakers will cancel investments and close U.K. facilities unless NHS pricing rises.
- Britain has proposed lifting the threshold at which the NHS pays for medicines by up to 25%, according to POLITICO.
- Negotiations now focus on the VPAG ‘clawback’ cap, with companies warning that higher NHS spending without a higher cap would swell repayment bills.
- U.K. negotiators are in Washington with what Stephens described as real-time progress, and ministers have extended by two weeks the deadline for firms to decide whether to exit the VPAG scheme.
- Eli Lilly said the proposals are insufficient to revive its £279 million Gateway Lab in the U.K. as it invests €2.6 billion in a new manufacturing site in the Netherlands.