An increase in spending on prescriptions of £2.3 billion over the last three years has been highlighted as one of major factors behind improvements in NHS services.

NHS spending on drugs grew to £7.18 billion in the year to April, a rise of nearly 50% since the NHS Plan was launched in 2000, while the actual number of prescriptions written rose nearly 17% over the same period.

In the year to June 2003, spending on statins rose 31%, adding to a massive increase in prescribing of the cholesterol lowering drugs which has seen the number of pills dispensed double since 2000.

The drug category showing the greatest growth in the year to June was the antiplatelet class, which saw spending rise 45% although the number of items dispensed rose just 14%.

The disparity between these two figures is the growth in newer antiplatelet drugs to supplement aspirin, most notably Sanofi Synthelabo's Plavix which doubled its sales in England in 2002.

NHS chief executive Nigel Crisp revealed the figures in his annual report on the service, which also highlighted the improvements in waiting lists and number of operations performed.

Asked whether the £7.18 billion represented good value for money, Sir Nigel said: "That is a good question. We are in negotiation with the drug industry over where we are going with the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme."

The PPRS profit control system is due to be renegotiated in September 2004, with a number of options open to the government. The scheme was last renegotiated in 1999, when the industry reluctantly accepted an overall 4.5 % cut in medicines prices, a measure it may have to agree to once again.

The industry begins discussions with the Department of Health to renegotiate the agreement in January, with ABPI director general Dr Trevor Jones hinting earlier this year that it would favour an unchanged agreement.

Ahead of the talks, the DoH annual report on the PPRS has been submitted to Parliament, but gives few clues to its thinking on the system future.

The report said that the system requiring companies to submit Annual Financial Returns (AFRs) was working well, but that concerns remained about whether submitted AFRs met the level of transparency required.

The report takes into account the industry contribution to the UK economy including its positive impact on the balance of trade. New figures from the ABPI for the first six months of 2003 showed a 24% rise in the medicines balance of trade surplus to £1.78 billion

External links

Chief Executive's report to the NHS 2003

PPRS seventh report to Parliament

pharmafocus@pharmafile.co.uk