UK watchdog probes US drug pricing deal
National Audit Office to to look into controversial deal with the Trump administration.
LONDON — Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO) is investigating the cost of the U.S.-UK drug pricing deal, following a call from six committee chairs for an inquiry. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, instructed his team to carry out preliminary investigations after receiving a letter from the committee chairs urging a probe into the deal's financial implications for taxpayers.
The deal requires the UK to double its spending on innovative medicines to 0.6% of its GDP by 2035, in exchange for tariff-free access to the U.S. market for three years. The government estimates the deal will cost £1 billion over the current spending review period, but officials have not disclosed the full cost, citing potential harm to international relations and commercial interests.
The lawmakers criticized the lack of a comprehensive impact assessment covering future years, stating that parliament and the public need more information to fully understand the long-term implications for NHS budgets and wider public expenditure. The committee chairs, including Health and Social Care Chair Layla Moran, Science, Innovation and Technology Chair Chi Onwurah, and Welsh Affairs Chair Ruth Jones, emphasized the lack of parliamentary scrutiny and no plans for the government to publish the details of how costs and benefits have been modeled.
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