UK VPAG payment rate for newer medicines will be 14.5% in 2026
The UK government has announced that the 2026 payment rate for newer medicines under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAG) will be 14.5%, down from a record 22.5% in 2025.
The pharmaceutical industry and the UK government had so far failed to reach agreement on requested changes to a medicines payment scheme. Pharma claims that - in its current form - the scheme is undermining patient access to innovative medicines and the competitiveness of the country’s life sciences industry.
The fall in the VPAG newer medicines payment rate follows last week's announcement of a new UK-US trade agreement, which included a commitment to ensure that the newer medicines payment rate in the Voluntary Scheme would not exceed 15% of company sales revenue to the National Health Service (NHS) for the next three years, according to a statement by trade group Association of the British pharmaceutical industry (ABPI).
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