01 Mar VPAS: 5%…15%…26.5%…when will it stop?
The ABPI introduces… VPAG.
When one thinks of VPAS in 2023 they think of Eli Lilly and AbbVie leaving the drug pricing scheme. It’s been a bit awkward and has created some unease within the space; will others follow suit? However, as we enter the third month of 2023, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has just published its vision for a new agreement with the government, which it hopes will be acceptable to patients, the NHS and the economy – sounds like a simple task right?
Say goodbye, potentially, to the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines, Pricing and Access…breathe….”V-PAS”, and hello to the Voluntary Scheme for Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG).
With a sustainable approach at heart, the ABPI hopes to maximise the potential of the UK life sciences industry, introduce measures to ensure rapid patient access, adopt new medicines and improve productivity for the whole country.
The key slice of information here is the introduction of a fixed rebate rate of 6.88% imposed across all eligible NHS medicine sales to be paid by the industry. This should, it is hoped, deliver £1bn a year to the NHS, £300m more than the average delivered under the old scheme. Not only would this give the NHS what it desperately needs, but would return the UK to an internationally competitive position for attracting investment and would reposition the UK as a leading health and life sciences ecosystem – something very much at the top of the Government’s agenda. There might also be an Investment Facility thrown in as well, helping ensure that the UK is prioritised as an early launch market.
While this does sound exciting, and is something greatly needed, negotiations are expected to commence towards the end of March. Let’s hope, for the sake of all of us, that the ABPI and the Government can work together efficiently and effectively to get the UK, and the NHS, back on track, otherwise it could do irreparable damage to the UK life sciences sector.
By Robbie Lockyer, Account Executive