Medicine costs cut by £700 million

NHS England has announced that the health service has saved more than £700 million from the annual medicines bill to reinvest in new treatments, as part of the Long Term Plan.

Following a campaign, which has supported patients and doctors to maximise the use of ‘generic’ and best value ‘biologic’ treatments to treat conditions including arthritis and cancer, the uptake of best value medicines lowered costs to taxpayers by £294 million last year alone. This means that the NHS is on track to meet its ambitious target of a further £400 million annual savings by 2021.

The savings for 2018-19 come on top of the £413 million saved from the annual medicines bill in the previous two years by maximising the use of best value generic and biologic treatments. Together, the savings mean the campaign to drive take-up has seen more than £700 million freed up to reinvest in other effective medicines.

Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: “The NHS is one of the most efficient health services in the world but as part of the Long Term Plan, we will continue to drive changes to ensure every NHS pound is spent wisely and patients have access to innovative life changing medicines.

“Use of the best value versions of expensive medicines is already delivering effective treatment for patients across the NHS, including those with cancer, offering the right care for patients while saving the tax payer hundreds of millions of pounds.”