Although the pricing contract that the UK government has agreed with pharmaceutical companies is usually changed every five years, the government has decided to renegotiate the contract, known as the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS).
According to the Independent, in an unprecedented move, ministers have invoked a six-month notice clause in order to renegotiate prices two years ahead of the deadline.
Belen Garijo, Sanofi-Aventis’s senior vice president of operations in Europe and Canada, said: “In the PPRS negotiations we expect to have a strong commitment, reflected in financing innovative products at the right price level, otherwise we will have to rethink how we are investing here when there are emerging markets,” as cited by the publication.
According to the Independent, Ms Garijo added that prices in the UK were already “almost the lowest in Europe”.
Marc Cluzel, head of R&D at Sanofi-Aventis, has revealed that the pharmaceutical giant intends to accelerate its expansion in China.