Options for efficient regulation of the UK pharmaceutical market

Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry is subject to economic regulation by governments almost all over the globe. In the UK, the pharmaceutical industry has been subject to the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) to sell branded medicines to the National Health Service (NHS) since 1978. The PPRS has, in the past, comprised of a combination of price and profit control. However, since 2014, the PPRS has, for the first time as the main regulatory mechanism, an aggregate revenue growth rate cap for branded medicines sold to the NHS. This last change was a new measure to limit the increasing burden of the medicines procurement costs, and it triggered questioning about the current way the industry is regulated. In line with this, in this paper, we review other options for the pharmaceutical industry's future regulation in the UK, setting out options that seem to be worth considering. With this purpose, we summarise pharmaceutical regulation in five other OECD countries, identifying options that may be relevant to the UK. Then, we review the UK utility sector's experience of economic regulation identifying options that may apply to the UK pharmaceutical industry. Finally, we discuss options for the future of the UK pharmaceutical industry and issues to be addressed. We consider each option the potential for reducing any duplication of regulatory instruments and a general reduction in the burden of regulation.