UK pharmaceutical industry agrees to pay £550 million to help fund NHS's 2016 medicines under new PPRS deal

Under a new financial agreement, as part of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), the UK pharmaceutical Industry will pay around £550 million ($818.9 million) in 2016 to help pay for medicines for the National Health Services (NHS) patients.

Acting chief executive at the ABPI, Alison Clough, said: "By agreeing to bring forward these payments, our industry is showing its commitment to patients so they get the medicines they need and also to improving the flow of new and innovative medicines into the NHS.  We know that access to new medicines is patchy across the UK and that there are still barriers in the system. The PPRS is unique; combined with the UK having some of the lowest costs for medicines in Europe it provides us with a real opportunity to use new medicines to help improve health outcomes.  We hope today's agreement will help us to make faster progress."

As part of the PPRS scheme, pharmaceutical companies have agreed to contribute towards the cost of medicines, with the aim of making the latest treatments affordable for the NHS.