Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of a potential link between the rebate in the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access and (a) the level of foreign direct investment into UK life sciences Research and Development, (b) the placement of clinical trials in the UK and (c) employment levels in the life sciences industry in the UK.

The Government has considered the link between changes to the volume-based rebate payments in our medicine pricing schemes and various kinds of investment, along with any associated impacts on employment in the life sciences industry in the United Kingdom, in our impact assessment of recent updates to the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing, which operates alongside the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS).

The Government’s 2023 impact assessment of updates to the statutory scheme is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-update-to-the-2023-statutory-scheme-to-control-the-costs-of-branded-health-service-medicines

With regard to the impact of medicine price regulation schemes on the level of foreign direct investment into the UK’s life sciences research and development, the evidence on this issue is uncertain. The impact assessment considered this issue, and sets out the Government’s assessment that, while price regulation schemes such as VPAS may be a consideration in the decision to locate such investments, these are complex decisions based on multiple factors. Supply side factors such as the availability of skilled labour are considered likely to be of greater significance.

With regard to the impact of price regulation on the placement of clinical trials in the UK, the Government’s assessment is that price control schemes in general are more likely to impact decisions about the location of late-stage than early-stage trials, as the location of late-stage trials may be more influenced by commercial considerations about where to launch a new medicine. However, VPAS includes strong commercial incentives to launch new products in the form of freedom of list pricing and exemptions from payments for innovative medicines containing a new active substance.