{"id":43756,"date":"2025-09-24T11:35:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/eli-lilly-ceo-slams-uk-drug-pricing-whats-behind-the-backlash\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:35:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:35:46","slug":"eli-lilly-ceo-slams-uk-drug-pricing-whats-behind-the-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/eli-lilly-ceo-slams-uk-drug-pricing-whats-behind-the-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Eli Lilly CEO slams UK drug pricing: what\u2019s behind the backlash?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eli Lilly\u2019s chief executive Dave Ricks has delivered a stark warning to the UK government, branding Britain \u201cprobably the worst country in Europe\u201d for drug prices and cautioning that the nation could miss out on new medicines unless conditions improve.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ricks said the UK\u2019s system of keeping drug costs low through rebates was discouraging innovation and investment. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnless that changes, I don\u2019t think they will see many new medicines and I don’t think they will see much investment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The remarks come amid mounting frustration within the pharmaceutical industry, as major players including Merck and AstraZeneca scale back or pause projects in the UK over what they describe as an increasingly hostile environment.<\/p>\n

Industry pushback over NHS rebate scheme<\/h2>\n

Part of the reason for the dispute is the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG), a 2024\u20132028 agreement between the government, the NHS, and the pharmaceutical industry. <\/p>\n

The system requires drugmakers to pay rebates to keep NHS spending on branded medicines within budget, with higher clawback rates for newer drugs.<\/p>\n

For pharmaceutical companies, these rebate rates \u2014 currently set at a minimum of 23.5% \u2014 are far higher than in other European nations. <\/p>\n

Ricks said the system effectively penalises firms for their success. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like to get rid of the clawback scheme called VPAG, which charges us for our own success,\u201d he told the FT.<\/p>\n

Negotiations over drug pricing collapsed in late August when Health Secretary Wes Streeting\u2019s \u201cgenerous\u201d offer was rejected by drugmakers, leaving the scheme in place at levels the industry deems unsustainable.<\/p>\n

A government spokesperson said talks could resume but insisted its previous proposal still stood: \u201cOur door remains open to future engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billions in investment projects paused or scrapped<\/h2>\n

The fallout has already hit the UK\u2019s life sciences sector. <\/p>\n

Eli Lilly temporarily halted shipments of its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in August ahead of a planned 170% price rise, while Merck announced this month it would scrap its London research hub and exit laboratories at the Francis Crick Institute and London Bioscience Innovation Centre, cutting 125 jobs.<\/p>\n

AstraZeneca, Britain\u2019s largest drugmaker, paused a planned \u00a3200 million expansion of its Cambridge research site and in January cancelled a \u00a3450 million vaccine plant in Liverpool after failing to secure government support.<\/p>\n

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Source<\/a>: The Guardian <\/em><\/p>\n

In total, four major projects worth more than \u00a31.8 billion have been scrapped or suspended this year, with industry figures warning that at least 13 major investment decisions have gone against the UK since 2022.<\/p>\n

Sanofi and Novartis have also scaled back, with Novartis reducing its UK presence from seven sites and over 4,000 staff to a single London base employing 1,200.<\/p>\n

Industry voices warn of human cost<\/h2>\n

Pharma executives argue the dispute is not only about investment but also about patients\u2019 access to new treatments. <\/p>\n

Guy Oliver, UK head of Bristol Myers Squibb, told the Times that the company had cancelled 34 partnerships with the NHS in the past year due to chronic underinvestment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a human cost to all of this,\u201d he said. \u201cPatients are really suffering, and have been suffering for many, many years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Naish, Sanofi\u2019s UK head of market access, added that substantial investment was now on hold, calling the situation \u201cintolerable\u201d for patients and urging the government to work with the sector.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s tariff threats add to firms’ pivot away from UK<\/h2>\n

Compounding the UK\u2019s difficulties are pressures from across the Atlantic. <\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump has demanded lower drug prices for American consumers and more domestic investment, threatening tariffs of up to 250% on pharmaceutical imports.<\/p>\n

Pharma groups are responding by pivoting towards the US market. <\/p>\n

Industry leaders say Trump\u2019s stance, combined with the UK\u2019s low-spending environment, is forcing companies to prioritise American expansion at Britain\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

Merck\u2019s decision to abandon its King\u2019s Cross development \u2014 which had been set to open in 2027 \u2014 was partly attributed to this shift, alongside global cost-cutting measures. <\/p>\n

The company has announced 6,000 job cuts and plans to save $3 billion annually.<\/p>\n

Political response divided<\/h2>\n

The government has acknowledged the sector\u2019s discontent but insists that fiscal pressures limit its options. <\/p>\n

Science minister Ian Murray described Merck\u2019s withdrawal as \u201cdeeply disappointing\u201d but framed it as a commercial decision influenced by global trends.<\/p>\n

However, opposition politicians argue the government is not doing enough. <\/p>\n

Conservative shadow science secretary Julia Lopez said Merck\u2019s remarks should serve as a wake-up call. <\/p>\n

\u201cSimply put, the UK is not internationally competitive,\u201d she said. \u201cThe government must wake up, and do so now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts warn of long-term damage<\/h2>\n

Sir John Bell, emeritus regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, said Britain\u2019s reduced spending on medicines compared with global peers was at the heart of the problem. <\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, we used to spend 15% of our healthcare spend on pharmaceuticals. Now it\u2019s 9%. The rest of the OECD are sitting between 14 and 20%,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n

He warned that large firms would continue to divert investments abroad if the UK remained unwilling to value innovation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe large companies do have to work in a system where they can sell their products, and if they can\u2019t sell their products here, they\u2019ll go and do their business somewhere else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The post Eli Lilly CEO slams UK drug pricing: what\u2019s behind the backlash?<\/a> appeared first on Invezz<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eli Lilly\u2019s chief executive Dave Ricks has delivered a stark warning to the UK government, branding Britain \u201cprobably the worst country in Europe\u201d for drug prices and cautioning that the nation could miss out on new medicines unless conditions improve. Speaking to the Financial Times, Ricks said the UK\u2019s system of keeping drug costs low <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quickassetsmarket.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}