The pharmaceuticals industry in Britain faces a “continued and increasing gap” with rival international markets under government plans for a new NHS sales levy on drug manufacturers, according to the contents of a leaked letter that has been seen by The Times.
It claims that the government’s initial proposals do not meet any of the four key tests demanded by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry in its negotiations with Whitehall, but instead are merely a continuation of an existing scheme for another five years.
The letter, marked “confidential” and sent to the bosses of multinational drugs companies by Richard Torbett, the association’s chief executive, warns that this means the “clawback the government expects from industry versus international comparators” is set to widen.
The
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