Eli Lilly has made resuming investment in the United Kingdom conditional on changes to how the NHS pays for medicines, according to comments from Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly’s international businesses. Jonsson said the company will only restart investment in the UK if the government agrees to regular increases in NHS drug prices and moves to phase out a multibillion-pound rebate scheme.
Jonsson told the Financial Times that talks are underway with UK ministers and that he is optimistic a deal can be reached by the summer that would see Britain pay more for its medicines. The negotiations are framed around securing a pricing framework that provides predictable, regularly adjusted payments for drugmakers.
In addition to seeking higher list prices and reform of the rebate mechanism, Lilly and UK officials are exploring novel payment approaches tied to patient outcomes. One example cited by Jonsson involves anti-obesity treatments, where payments could be linked to whether patients improve sufficiently to return to work as a result of their medication.
The proposal to connect reimbursements with functional outcomes for patients reflects a broader interest in outcome-based pricing models, though Jonsson did not provide further operational detail. The discussions remain at the negotiation stage as company and government representatives attempt to define terms that would satisfy both commercial and public-health priorities.
For now, Lilly’s investment posture in the UK is explicitly dependent on the government’s willingness to accept recurring price increases and to dismantle the existing rebate structure. Jonsson’s public remarks indicate confidence that a resolution is possible within the coming months, but the company’s commitment to return investment remains contingent on the outcome of these talks.
Key points
- Eli Lilly conditions UK investment on regular NHS drug price increases and the phase-out of a multibillion-pound rebate scheme.
- The company is in ongoing talks with UK ministers and is optimistic about reaching an agreement by the summer for Britain to pay more for medicines.
- Discussions include outcome-linked pricing models, such as tying payments for anti-obesity drugs to patients returning to work.
Risks and uncertainties
- Negotiations may not produce an agreement acceptable to both Lilly and UK ministers - this affects pharmaceutical investment flows into the UK.
- Phasing out a multibillion-pound rebate scheme could face budgetary or policy resistance within the UK government and health system - impacting public finances and NHS procurement practices.
- Implementing outcome-linked payment models for medicines like anti-obesity drugs raises operational uncertainties about measuring and verifying outcomes such as return-to-work status.