Pharmaceutical executives argue that unnecessary deaths are occurring due to the NHS’s insufficient investment in critical treatments, urging Health Secretary Wes Streeting to reconsider the funding allocation for medicines.

They assert that the government’s approach to drug pricing has resulted in the unavailability of several cancer treatments in the UK, claiming it deprives vulnerable patients of essential life-saving care.

AstraZeneca halted plans for a £200 million research facility in Cambridge on Friday, following Merck’s recent decision to cancel a £1 billion expansion in the UK, highlighting the ongoing disagreement.

Guy Oliver, head of Bristol Myers Squibb in the UK, described the situation as worsening, emphasizing the human toll: ‘Patients have really been suffering for years now.’

Mr. Oliver informed The Times that due to persistent ‘chronic underinvestment’ in medicines, his company was compelled to cut hundreds of UK jobs, ending drug trials and 34 NHS partnership projects.

‘As a company, we can’t really do research, development and clinical trials in a country that doesn’t value that innovation. 

He added: ‘This is why our company, along with others, has decided against introducing medicines, clinical trials, and additional investments to the UK.’

According to Mr Oliver, of all the medicines available in Europe, some 35 per cent of are not available in the UK, solidifying the country’s poor position in cancer survival rates. 

He said: ‘There are a number of medicines for cancer that we haven’t been able to bring to the UK, that are available across all comparable countries—Germany, France, Spain, the US, Japan, Australia, Canada. 

‘It’s just unfair. Patients could jump on the Eurostar and within an hour, you’re in a country where it’s available.’ 

Data from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry shows that over 60 drugs have not been made available in the UK over the past five years—with the country investing just nine per cent of its healthcare budget in medicines. 

The threshold used by the NHS spending watchdog, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to determine whether a drug is cost effective has not changed in over 25 years. 

One example is Krazati, a potentially life-changing lung cancer drug produced by Mr Oliver’s company, which is not available in the UK but approved for use almost everywhere else in Europe. 

September saw Mr Streeting walk away from negotiations with the industry after month of talks aimed at increasing NHS spending on drugs. 

Pharma giants are now demanding changes to be made to NICE guidelines and an overhaul to the existing VPAG scheme, which requires pharmaceutical companies to pay back profits to the NHS if sales surpass a set threshold. 

Mr Oliver added it is ‘absolutely critical’ that these conversations resume immediately to prevent more potentially life saving drugs being pulled. 

‘Every day that we don’t continue these talks means more and more decision that companies like BMS have to make around not bringing our clinical trials, not launching a medicine, and not partnering with the NHS,’ he argued.  

Last week’s hold-up follows Eli Lily’s decision to increase the wholesale price of its miracle weight loss jab Mounjaro in the UK—from £122 to £330 for the highest dose—after Donald Trump sparked a global drugs price war. 

President Trump demanded US drug makers lower prices for American patients, who he said ‘subsidise the health care of foreign countries’, accusing Britain of ‘freeloading’ off US firms. 

Another US drug firm, Johnson & Johnson, echoed concerns, warning that delays to resume talks and reform existing guidelines would hurt the UK’s global ‘competitiveness, economic growth and most importantly, patient health outcomes.’ 

Roz Bekker, the firm’s UK managing director, added: ‘For over a decade, the UK pharmaceutical industry has absorbed much of the country’s medicines bills growth.’ 

He continued that the VPAG ‘clawback’, which is currently three times higher than comparable countries, could make it harder for UK patients to receive potentially life-saving treatments. 

‘Patient access to cancer medicines in the UK is already lower versus other European countries and this could continue to deteriorate without meaningful reform to clawback rates back in line with international standards.’ 

A Government spokesperson denied the claims, saying that cancer care remains a priority of the NHS, The Times reported. 

‘We will always stand behind cancer patients and ensure they get the access to the best available care and affordable cutting edge drugs they need. 

‘Cancer care is an urgent priority as we turn around our NHS after more than a decade of neglect. The national cancer plan will set out how we will improve outcomes and ut the NHS back at the forefront of global cancer care.’ 

They added that the government has already put forward a ‘generous and unprecedented offer’ worth around £1billion to the industry over three years, as part of the review of current thresholds. 

One drug that remains in dispute in Enhertu, an advanced antibody that has been shown to halt the progression of breast cancer tumours. 

In a trial, patients given the drug lived twice as long without their tumours progressing, compared with standard chemotherapy treatment. Results found that patients on Enhertu were also up to a third less likely to die in the next 18-month period.

Whilst the drug, which is estimated to cost around £1,455 per vial, is available through the NHS in Scotland, NICE has repeatedly denied approval of the ‘wonder drug’. 

Astrazeneca has since criticised NICE’s classification of the disease, which lists breast cancer as only ‘moderately severe’, affecting the price it is willing to pay.