Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Thursday, 10 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 March 2005. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 March 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what changes have taken place in the price to the NHS of drugs produced by (a) GlaxoSmithKline and (b) other pharmaceutical companies in each of the last seven years.

Answer: Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have taken place in the price to the NHS of drugs produced by (a) GlaxoSmithKline and (b) other pharmaceutical companies in each of the last seven years. [221750] Ms Rosie Winterton: The prices of branded prescription medicines and the profits that companies are allowed to make on their sales to the national health service are controlled by the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. A new five-year scheme commenced on 1 January 2005 and included a price reduction of 7 per cent. on all products covered by the scheme, which will deliver annual savings of £370 million for the NHS in England. The 1999 scheme also included a price reduction of 4.5 per cent. and has delivered annual savings to the NHS of some £250 million. In addition, the reimbursement prices of four generic medicines were reduced in 2003 and 2004 to save £300 million a year. The mechanisms and criteria for price changes are complex and apply to over 200 companies and thousands of products. The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

Secondary information