§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will ask the Director General of Fair Trading to investigate the pricing policy and structure of the pharmaceutical industry.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergI have been asked to reply.
The United Kingdom based pharmaceutical industry, for which the Department has sponsorship responsibility within government, supplies by far the greater part of medicines used in the National Health Service and will continue to do so within the foreseeable future. It maintains an impressive record of innovation and productivity, and its exports make a significant 486W contribution to the balance of payments. Manufacturers prices for National Health Service medicines are already subject to the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.