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Medicines UK reaction to King's Fund report on medicines spend

Reaction from Medicines UK to today's King's Fund report which warned that rising spend on NHS medicines could jeopardise patients' access to drugs.

 "The King's Fund report highlights that the optimal use of generic - and biosimilar - medicines results in more patients being treated for less money. This is a major contributor to dealing with the challenge, also highlighted in the report, that the NHS faces in ensuring that British patients have access to the right medicines at the right time. Generic competition currently saves the NHS £13bn per year. 

"If the generic industry is to continue to make this huge contribution to the sustainability of the NHS, the industry too needs to be economically sustainable. The UK already enjoys the lowest prices in Europe, facilitated by one of the largest market shares in Europe together with low barriers to entry and low levels of Government intervention. Those conditions must continue if the industry is to continue to be sustainable. 

"The industry faces increased costs and uncertainty due to increased regulation such as the Falsified Medicines Directive, exchange rate fluctuations due to Brexit, and the uncertainty of the regulatory framework in a year's time. But we can continue to make and even increase our contribution by optimising the use of generics which are frequently the gold standard for known and treatable conditions, whilst originator companies focus on creating new treatments to deal with unmet clinical need. This should be the Government's and the NHS's aim, as well as our own."

ENDS

For further information contact Jeremy Durrant on 07879 650206 or email Jeremy.durrant@medicinesuk.com

For more information on Medicines UK, visit: www.medicinesuk.com/.