Statutory scheme to control cost of branded medicines

The government is consulting on proposals to amend the statutory scheme that controls the prices of branded health service medicines. This builds on a previous consultation run in 2015.

The aim is to achieve alignment with the current voluntary pharmaceutical price regulation scheme (PPRS), agreed in 2014.

The main proposals in the consultation are:

• the introduction of a payment system similar to that in the 2014 PPRS
• changes to the provisions on maximum prices, including removing the requirement for a 15% price cut
• changes to the information requirements placed on companies

Draft regulations and a draft impact assessment are published alongside this consultation.