§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he intends to make representations to Burroughs Wellcome to reduce the cost of the drug Otosporin from the £409 currently charged to the National Health Service to a figure nearer the 94p charged for the same quantity of the drug in Spain; and whether he intends to make spot checks on the cost of other drugs in Europe that are on the National Health Service limited list.
§ Mr. MellorThe prices of medicines purchased by the National Health Service are not set by individual comparison with prices charged in other countries. Prices in different countries vary for a wide range of reasons, including varying levels of consumption and different pricing arrangement adopted by Governments. In the United Kingdom, the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme regulates the overall profit obtained by pharmaceutical companies on their business supplying the National Health Service, and medicine costs are in the middle band among European states.