US and UK unveil major new collaboration

The USA and UK are to join forces in a bid to share medical knowledge and improve the access to and availability of innovative medicines.

The announcement at the PharmaTimes Great Oxford Debate came from chairman of the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence, Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, and former US Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr Mark McClellan, who was recently appointed as head of the agency that oversees the Medicaid/Medicare prescription drug benefits programme in the USA.

The two industry heavyweights set aside the motion: 'This House believes that Government price controls don't provide a path to affordable, innovating medicines and better healthcare,' to unveil the venture, which would see the pooling of clinical data, knowledge and experience in a bid to assess the safety and efficacy of new medicines earlier in their development and speed up their market introduction.

Speaking in favour of the motion, Dr McClellan claimed that free pricing and the increased use of legitimate generic alternatives to branded medicines would pave the way for increased research and development and, ultimately, improve both innovation and access to medicines. However, he acknowledged the need to collaborate internationally, to 'harmonise the regulatory oversight of medicines and use all the best practices from around the world.'

Sir Michael, in contrast, argued that price controls in the UK allowed payers some level of control and did not deprive patients of affordable or innovative medicines. The country's pharmaceutical price regulation scheme, he said, allowed the UK to 'punch well above its weight' with manufacturers recouping some 23% of sales to support r&d.