To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the prevalence and efficacy of the procurement and use of off-patent drugs in the NHS.
Answered on
1 September 2014
We have made no such assessment.
There are mechanisms in place to ensure that the reimbursement prices paid by the National Health Service to dispensing contractors for generic (off-patent) medicines dispensed in primary care provide value for money for the NHS in the majority of instances.
For example, Part VIII of the Drug Tariff lists the most commonly prescribed products with a reimbursement price that dispensing contractors will be paid. Setting a reimbursement price encourages contractors to seek lower prices and procure in a manner that is cost-effective for the NHS.
In 2013, 83.9% of NHS prescriptions in primary care were prescribed generically.
Generic products in secondary care are tendered by the Department’s Commercial Medicines Unit in collaboration with the NHS through a national programme that ensures value for money by offering the NHS’ requirement to the market on a consolidated basis, whilst ensuring quality standards are maintained.