Drugmakers resist U.K. price goals

Drug companies are standing their ground in price negotiations with the U.K. government. Pharma is offering to cut the U.K.'s drug bill by roughly half the government's goal, The Daily Telegraph reports. Industry negotiators said they'd reduce the prices of patented drugs by less than 5 percent, when the government was reported to be seeking a 10 percent to 12 percent reduction. To make up some of the difference, drugmakers are saying they'll cut the price of drugs that come off patent but still have little generic competition.

Apparently, the negotiators are at odds over predicted increases in drug costs. Pharma is predicting just 3 percent annual growth, but the government is expecting something like 8 percent, an "insider" told the newspaper.

- read the Telegraph article [1]

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