BIA response to DHSC statutory scheme consultation

The BIA has responded to DHSC's consultation on the proposed review of the statutory scheme to control the cost of branded health service medicines. 

The BIA is supportive of a statutory scheme which improves patients’ access to medicines, rewards innovation and supports the growth of the UK life sciences sector. However, we are concerned that the proposals set out of this consultation will fail to achieve these objectives. In our consultation response we outlined a number of concerns, including: 

• The proposed 2% cap on the allowed growth rate is not sustainable and will reduce the attractiveness of the UK as a destination for investment and product launches.
• The proposed lifecycle adjustment (LCA) mechanism risks reducing the value of IP protections as an incentive for innovation, as well as harming certain types of products where there are unlikely to be high levels of competition, such are rare disease medicines.
• The proposals would place a significant administrative burden on both the Government and industry, which will be especially challenging for smaller companies with limited resources.
• The impact assessment is based on several unsubstantiated assumptions about industry investment decisions and fails to consider the wider impact of the proposals on the UK life sciences sector.