The UK-US pharmaceutical deal is a \u2018good piece of damage limitation\u2019 but still means spending more on medicines, a former ambassador to the US has said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) conference in London on Thursday Lord Kim Darroch said the deal \u2013 agreed in December\u2013 was \u2018not fantastic\u2019 but was better than paying 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n
He said: \u2018We did a deal. We were very smart to do a deal, and it\u2019s quite a good deal although it still means we pay more tariffs on pharmaceuticals from America than we were.<\/p>\n
Related Article: \u2018Skyrocketing\u2019 drug costs leaving pharmacy owners with ‘impossible choice’<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018We promised to up our spending on medicines by 100% over the next 10 years, so it\u2019s not fantastic. But we\u2019re a lot better off with this deal than we would have been with 100% tariffs, so it\u2019s damage limitation for us. It\u2019s a very good piece of damage limitation \u2013 I applaud those who did it.\u2019<\/p>\n The deal<\/a> agreed with the US secured a 0% tariff on all pharmaceutical exports to the US for at least three years as well as ‘preferential terms’ for the UK\u2019s med tech exports, meaning there will be no additional tariffs on medical tech.<\/p>\n New details about the deal, published on 2 April by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), also revealed plans to double spending on innovative medicines from 0.3% of GDP to 0.6% by 2036.<\/p>\n This will be done gradually with the government aiming to spend at least 0.35% of its GDP on new medicines by the end of 2028; at least 0.4% by the end of 2030; and at least 0.6% by the end of 2036.<\/p>\n It also plans to increase the share of the NHS budget spent on medicines from 10% to 12% over the next decade, with raising the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) cost-effectiveness threshold to \u00a325,000-\u00a335,000 expected to accelerate this change.<\/p>\n