Patient group Myeloma UK has urged the Government to rethink how the NHS should reward new medicines that deliver wider societal benefits with higher prices. The recommendation is one of several made by Myeloma UK in their submission to the Department of Health consultation on value-based pricing that closes today.

Eric Low, Myeloma UK Chief Executive, commented: "It is crucial that the Department of Health gets the details of value-based pricing right so as not to miss the many opportunities it offers. We are concerned that this consultation overlooks several critical details and makes a number of assumptions about what the NHS should be paying for without a proper evidence base."

The recommendations are informed by a policy discussion the patient group held in Parliament in February. MPs, policy experts, health economists, clinicians and representatives from patient organisations and the pharmaceutical industry scrutinised the issues raised by, and omitted from, the Government's consultation.

Myeloma UK has for some time been frustrated by the current medicines pricing and assessment system. It has long been calling for a new value-based approach to drug pricing and is pleased that the Coalition Government is making steps in this direction. It fully welcomes the intention to improve patient access to drugs while offering the NHS better value for money through fairer prices for new medicines.

Eric Low explains, "The system we have had to date has been a 'take it or leave it' pricing culture. If NICE considers that the price of a drug does not offer value for money it is left with no choice but to deny or delay access to it in the NHS. Tying the price of a drug to its proven benefits is a far more common sense approach that should benefit patients, NHS payers and industry more fairly."

However, Myeloma UK is calling on the Department of Health to consult further on key aspects of their proposals as it is concerned that some of the rationale behind the reforms lacks a solid evidence base. The Department needs to carefully assess what mechanisms will best achieve their objectives.

"It may seem a good idea to pay a higher price for drugs that provide wider societal benefits, for example, getting people back to work; but this will undoubtedly benefit some groups of patients more than others. We have to recognise all the likely consequences of a reward system and be absolutely sure that it reflects what society wants the NHS to pay more for. The consultation assumes we should spend NHS resources this way but there is no definitive evidence to back it up."

Myeloma UK is also concerned that these reforms provide strong incentives for the local uptake of new medicines in the NHS in the absence of mandatory NICE guidance. Without such incentives for local payers, value-based pricing will not improve the availability of new drugs. The Government will also need to ensure that the new pricing mechanisms are congruent with medicines assessment processes in the devolved regions, which is another key area not addressed by this consultation.

It is vital that patient organisations such as Myeloma UK, that have a strong heritage and wealth of experience in medicines assessment and drug access policy, are involved in the development of the Government's proposals and play a key role in their implementation. Myeloma UK looks forward to working with the Department of Health to help them take advantage of the many opportunities that a value-based system of medicines pricing offers.

Source
Myeloma UK