NHS: Drugs
(asked on 11th January 2017) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the cost to the NHS of (a) branded and (b) non-branded inhaled medication in the latest period for which figures are available.
Information for the latest available 12 month period is given in the table below.
Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) of inhaled-medication prescription items written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England, classified as inhaled nebuliser products within British National Formulary sections 3.1.2 Antimuscarinic bronchodilators, 3.1.4 Compound bronchodilator preparations , 3.2 Corticosteroids, and 3.3.1 Cromoglicate and related therapies | ||||
Period | NIC £000’s | |||
Year | Quarter | Non-branded 1 | Branded 2 | Total |
2015 | 4 | 20,959.2 | 246,653.5 | 267,612.7 |
2016 | 1 | 25,205.7 | 226,611.2 | 251,816.9 |
2016 | 2 | 25,390.8 | 231,223.2 | 256,614.0 |
2016 | 3 | 25,047.6 | 228,186.1 | 253,233.8 |
Total 3 |
| 96,603.3 | 932,674.1 | 1,029,277.3 |
Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system data provided by NHS Digital
Notes:
1 Non-Branded are those drugs prescribed and available generically.
2 Branded will include those generics that have been dispensed with a Brand name.
3 Total figure may not sum due to rounding.
Most inhaled products are licensed with a brand name, so even after the brand originator loses the patent exclusivity and alternative products become available, they usually will have a brand name, therefore their Net Ingredient Cost will be reported against branded spend.