The agreement offers a rare moment of clarity in an increasingly fraught phase of the U.K.’s “special relationship” with the U.S., with President Donald Trump recently lashing out at Britain for refusing to join his war against Iran and threatening to pull the U.S. out of NATO, News.Az reports, citing Politico.
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Under the deal, announced last December, Britain agreed to increase the cost-effectiveness threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) by 25 percent, while slashing the maximum rebate the NHS can claw back from drugmakers to 15 percent.
In an announcement on Thursday, the government confirmed it had agreed a text with the U.S. that exempted the U.K. from tariffs on pharmaceuticals as well as mechtech for at least three years. It added that the countries had also agreed to work together towards mutual recognition of medical device approvals. The U.K. has also pledged to raise pharmaceutical spending to 0.6 percent of GDP by 2035. Industry figures see the text as a stepping stone to set out a credible timeline for reaching the 0.6 percent target.
The government’s oversight committee, led by Science Minister Patrick Vallance and Medicines Minister Zubir Ahmed, is currently mapping out how the spending increases will be delivered.
In a statement reflecting on the tariff deal, Vallance said: “Thanks to this partnership, patients right across the NHS will benefit from access to life changing new medicines that they previously would have been denied.
“Not only this, but as the first country in the world to benefit from a zero percent tariff on pharmaceuticals to the US, Britain’s life sciences sector will be further boosted.”
Earlier last month, the government laid secondary legislation to update rules around how NICE assesses the value of new drugs, lifting the cost-effectiveness threshold by £5000 to £25,000-£35,000 per quality-adjusted life year.
