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The price the NHS pays for medicines will need to rise to stop a wave of pharmaceutical investment leaving the UK, science minister Patrick Vallance has said.<\/p>\n
His comments follow several recent announcements from some of the world’s largest drug companies either pausing or scrapping UK projects.<\/p>\n
Critics in the sector say low prices for new drugs, a lack of government investment, and tariff pressure from US President Donald Trump have been pushing firms away from the UK.<\/p>\n
Lord Vallance told the BBC “price increases are going to be a necessary part” of solving that problem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Where the additional money would come from to pay higher prices is a matter for the department of health and the Treasury to figure out,” he added.<\/p>\n
Lord Vallance was speaking at the opening of US vaccine giant Moderna’s new centre in Oxfordshire where millions of flu and Covid jabs will be made.<\/p>\n
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who cut the ribbon at the development project on Wednesday, told the BBC there was “a live conversation between government departments and the pharma industry” on drug pricing.<\/p>\n
Lord Vallance added: “We must end up with a deal of some sort… because it’s in the interest of the economy, it’s in the interest of patients.”<\/p>\n
According to the government, Moderna is investing more than a \u00a31bn in UK research and development as part of a 10-year partnership to create new treatments jobs and boost pandemic resilience.<\/p>\n
Its commitment, made three years ago, stands in contrast to Merck’s decision this month to scrap a \u00a31bn project in Liverpool and AstraZeneca’s pausing of a \u00a3200m investment in Cambridge, also this month.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Novartis said in August that NHS patients will lose access to new cutting-edge treatments because of skyrocketing costs.<\/p>\n
It said it was not considering the UK for major new investments<\/a> in manufacturing, research, or advanced technology because of “systemic barriers”.<\/p>\n