Victoria Williams

Patients deserve better. The UK Government’s Voluntary Scheme for Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) mid-scheme review has ended without agreement. This is a disappointing outcome – for patients, for the NHS, and for our industry. At Novartis UK, our purpose is to bring innovative medicines to patients to help improve and extend lives. But the current UK environment makes this increasingly difficult. High VPAG rates, outdated NICE thresholds unchanged since 1999, and low investment in medicines are preventing access to the most advanced therapies. Without reform, we cannot fully deliver on our mission. We entered discussions with a genuine commitment to shape a future where innovation reaches patients faster. But the final proposals did not address the fundamental barriers to access or the long-standing underinvestment in medicines. This goes beyond policy. Patients are missing out, the NHS is under pressure, and the UK’s life sciences sector is losing ground. There is a promise to increase spending on innovative medicines, but if we are serious about change, we need to move faster. Patients should not have to wait a decade. Medicines drive better outcomes, more efficient care and empowered patients. Reforming VPAG and NICE processes is essential to ensure no one is left behind. This cannot be the end of the conversation. We’re still here, ready to work with Government and others to find a better path forward – because together we can still fix this. Read more in my interview with Bloomberg: https://lnkd.in/dxu2XXBd #NovartisOK

169

4 Comments

This news is a real blow to the UK’s life sciences ambition. No one wants to hear that successful and innovative companies like MSD are reducing their investment and footprint in the UK.  This news must be used as an opportunity to reflect on what factors are driving companies to make such difficult decisions, and what this country can do to ensure it is attracting the high-quality investment we need and not driving it away. I continue to believe that the UK has the potential to lead globally in developing the next generation of medicines and vaccines, but without a more competitive environment for investment, we risk losing out to other countries that are prepared to make bold moves to attract internationally mobile investment. https://on.ft.com/3VFbNpI

548

67 Comments

In a recent interview with The Times, our CEO Paul Hudson highlighted a critical issue facing the UK's life sciences sector. For too long, we've relied on our world-leading research institutions as the primary driver of pharmaceutical investment. But is this enough? The hard truth is that the UK is failing to capitalise on its strategic advantage in life sciences. Our academic excellence has masked decades of underinvestment in innovative medicines. With evaluation metrics stuck in the 20th century and medicines budgets lagging other developed nations, we're at a pivotal moment. Following the recent breakdown of VPAG negotiations, we have defaulted to an intolerable reality, where only 37% of patients in this country have full access to new medicines compared to 75% in Italy or 90% in Germany. British patients deserve better. At Sanofi, we remain committed to working with the Government to achieve its ambition of becoming the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030. But this vision will only succeed with an immediate return to the negotiating table. For the sake of patients and for the vital role that British science can play in discovering the next miracles of science - let's act now. #SanofiUK #LifeSciences #PatientAccess Paul Hudson Alex Ralph https://lnkd.in/e8Qg5wbN

177

9 Comments

At Boehringer Ingelheim, we understand that patients are experts in their lived experience of disease. Innovation must be seen from their perspective, from insights to impact - we call this #PatientPoweredProgress.    Earlier this summer, I sat down with Vicki Mooney and Jan Geissler, highly engaging patient advocates, to talk about how we can continue to shape a more patient-centric healthcare system, together. You can view our discussion on the future of patient-centric healthcare here:  https://lnkd.in/e2WP-eMi   I’d love to hear your thoughts on priorities for creating a more patient-centric healthcare system in the comments below.   #LifeForward #PatientEngagement #PatientCentricity

580

3 Comments

Today a new partnership was announced between Novo Nordisk and Replicate Bioscience—a collaboration that brings together Novo Nordisk’s deep therapeutic expertise with Replicate’s proprietary self-replicating RNA (srRNA) platform.    This partnership aims to enable therapeutic endogenous intracellular production of proteins, with a potential for targeting disease underlying biologies in diabetes and obesity. Replicate’s optimized vector library offers enhanced protein expression and durability, which aligns with our ambition to raise the innovation bar through novel modality platforms with applicability in diabetes and obesity.    Congratulations to the teams at Novo Nordisk and Replicate for securing this collaboration. Looking forward to working together to unlock new possibilities for patients.    #Innovation #Cardiometabolic #RNAtherapeutics #NovoNordisk #srRNA    https://lnkd.in/eNzbK52V    

314

7 Comments

The UK’s life sciences ambition is to lead Europe by 2030 and be third globally by 2035 after the US and China. The The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) Competitiveness Framework suggests we’ve got our work cut out to get there.  UK pharma R&D growth has averaged 1.9% a year since 2020 Vs 6.6% globally and we slipped from 4th to 8th in Phase III trials.  MSD’s announcement yesterday is a stark reminder of the consequences these headwinds are having for the UK life sciences ecosystem on UK science, on UK jobs, on UK patients. With only 37% of new medicines fully available here versus 90% in Germany, I would encourage everyone to read the report in full and sit with what the trends are telling us, not just about competitiveness, but about what it means for patients and the NHS over the next decade.    I’m convinced that together we can find a better way.  https://lnkd.in/eiWZU-75 #UKLifeSciences #Pharma #R&D #ClinicalTrials #MedicinesAccess #HealthPolicy #NHS #Investment #Competitiveness

124

4 Comments