Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reintroducing a taper for smaller companies into the next Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.

The Government is committed to supporting the United Kingdom life sciences industry and ensuring that patients can access cost-effective innovative medicines and technologies at a price the National Health Service can afford. We have been listening to industry feedback and discussing how the medicines market is likely to evolve over the next five years. These discussions have now moved into a more formal phase and are commercially sensitive. The Government will update Parliament if and when agreement is reached.