Scotland reforms will see drug access improve
pharmafile | February 3, 2014 | News story | Sales and Marketing | PACE, SMC, Scotland, drugs, neil
Scotland is set to overhaul its medicines access system after complaints from charities and interest groups that patients have been losing out.
The reforms are set to come into place this May and will involve the creation of Patient and Clinician Engagement (Pace) meetings that will be held by the drugs pricing watchdog the Scottish Medical Consortium (SMC).
The country’s health secretary Alex Neil believes these changes mean patients and doctors in Scotland will have a greater say about which drugs are approved by the country’s health system.
This is because Pace will let those who would take or prescribe drugs have an early input on whether they should be approved for the Scottish NHS. The reforms will also allow pharma companies a chance to drop their prices if they initially charge more than the SMC will accept.
And if drugs are deemed too pricey, pharma firms will also be able to take part in a Patient Access Scheme – just as they can with NICE in England – but without having to re-submit their application for licensing.
This will see the price of the drug to Scotland’s NHS lowered, although by just how much will not be revealed to the public.
Neil told The Times newspaper: “At the moment the SMC may be inclined to approve a drug because they believe in the medication but are concerned about the cost. Often there is room for manoeuvre. The drug companies can work on things to make the drug accessible in terms of cost.
“In those circumstances, where the SMC is minded that the drug does what it says on the tin, it gives them an opportunity to go back to the company and say, ‘We would like to approve it but can we discuss the pricing and get something more realistic’.”
The move could go some way to prevent delays to patients as it would stop companies having to go through numerous application processes. Andrew Powrie-Smith, director of the ABPI in Scotland, said: “As an industry, we look forward to continuing to work with SMC, NHS Scotland and the Scottish government to ensure patients see a real difference in the speed and availability of the treatments they need.”
Neil added: “This [the reforms] will revolutionise access to new medicines and make the system better for patients and I believe it will lead to Scotland having a world-leading process.”
Recuing costs in the long term
In recent times the SMC has widened the definition of end of life medicines to cover treatments that would usually last three years, rather than the previous two.
The full package of changes is expected to cost £70 million a year. Neil said however that he was ‘relaxed’ about the cost because there was already funding in place for rare conditions.
He added that the price of generic medicines was also ‘coming down’ and there would be a reduction in patients having to go into hospital – which could save the NHS money in the long run.
But whilst access is a concern for some in the region, the country’s Scottish National Party has so far ruled out replicating England’s £200 million a year cancer drugs fund, which would bypass the SMC and pay for oncology medicines not recommended by the body.
Ben Adams
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