NHS to lose out on new drugs, pharma firm Novartis warns

Swiss firm Novartis said it was not considering the UK for major new investments in manufacturing, research, or advanced technology because of "systemic barriers".

In 2023 a deal was done with predictions of how big the rebate should be that pharma companies would have to pay the UK government on sales to the NHS above an agreed threshold.

A 15% rate had been expected, aimed at preventing the health service's costs from spiralling out of control.

However, the actual rebate rate has risen to 23.5%, which Novartis said was more than triple the 7% rate in Germany, for example.

The firm, which employs 78,000 people globally, said patients were losing access to or missing out entirely on new treatments as a result of the current situation.

It said due to the "declining competitiveness" of the UK market, the company had "already been unable to launch several medicines" in the country "for public reimbursement - medicines that are, or soon will be, available to patients in other European countries".

"The concern is that future launches and research investment could be further deprioritised for the UK if the environment remains uncompetitive," the company added.