Fears that spiralling repayment rates might lead some pharmaceutical companies to leave the UK's Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS) have been borne out after Lilly and AbbVie said they could no longer continue as members of the scheme.
Two Big Pharma Firms Quit UK Pricing Scheme In Protest Over High Levies
Lilly says the current voluntary drug pricing and access scheme has harmed innovation and left the UK a “global outlier” among major countries, while AbbVie asserts that this year’s repayment rate of 26.5% will impair its ability to operate sustainably in the country. The industry body, the ABPI, says it will come up with proposals for a “completely new settlement” in the coming months.
