Department of Health reports 5.2% growth in spending on branded drugs

NHS spending on branded drugs made available under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) between 2013 and 2014 went up by 5.2%, according to an analysis published by the Department of Health on 7 September 2015.

Other figures, supplied by IMS Health and used in the analysis, estimated a higher increase of 8.2%. The rise, according to the document, occurred mostly in the hospital sector where the use of branded drugs went up by 16.5% between 2013 and 2014. Community sector spend increased by 1.9% over the same period.

Most of the rise in spending on branded drugs occurred in products for the treatment of breast and advanced prostate cancer, drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease and for wet age-related macular degeneration (ADM) and new oral anticoagulants.

Aflibercept (Eylea) for the treatment of wet AMD had the largest increase in spending in the 12 months analysed, rising by £102m, according to the report.

On its website, the Department of Health explains the difference between the PPRS figures and the IMS Health data: “IMS Health data, which provides product level data across the specified period, has been used to compare the growth in branded medicines.

“PPRS data and IMS Health data are not directly comparable due to differences in definitions and price bases — however, the IMS Health data gives a good indication of the reasons behind the growth.”