The suggestion that the US-UK pharmaceutical agreement will result in excess deaths is alarmist and relies on a heavily critiqued approach to modelling how much the NHS can spend to generate health (US-UK drug deal could result in 229,000 excess deaths in England, analysis suggests, 1 July). It is underpinned by incomplete data.
In just the last three months, many new medicines that would otherwise have been withheld or delayed have reached NHS patients as a result of the reformed pricing arrangements. These include treatments for several cancers, blood disorders and autoimmune conditions. This progress has resulted from an increase in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effectiveness threshold, which had not moved in almost 25 years, despite the NHS falling behind comparable European countries on access to new treatments, particularly for cancer and rare diseases.
No one disputes that medicines require sustainable funding. But framing a modest, long-overdue adjustment to how the NHS values innovation as a public health threat is inappropriate. It ignores the impact on patients benefiting from or waiting for life‑changing treatments. It also fails to account for the opportunity to increase investment and consequently the resources available to fund the NHS and the next generation of treatments.
Richard Torbett
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
• Scrutiny of the US-UK drug deal should acknowledge the inequities faced by patients. Government figures show that, for every 100 patients receiving a newly launched medicine in comparable countries during its first year on the market, only 48 receive it here. The deal aims to end this injustice. Critics should explain how they would bring care for British patients closer to the standards in comparable countries.
Nick Hoile
Senior director and chief operating officer for health, MHP Group
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