However, Benger, in his first interview since becoming chief executive of Nice last month, said the government would either need to increase taxes or cut other public spending to fund this increase in expenditure on drugs. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf they choose to spend money on defence, they\u2019ve got to pay for that somehow, either by raising taxes or removing money from somewhere else. If they choose to spend money more on medicines, similarly, that has to be paid for,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The approval body ensured \u201cthe UK taxpayer gets medicines at a very good price and I think to dismantle that system would be problematic\u201d, he added, warning of a \u201chuge backward step\u201d if Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave in to US pressure and weakened Nice\u2019s ability to make independent decisions. <\/p>\n
Nice at present approves medicines that cost less than a maximum of \u00a320,000-\u00a330,000 for each year of good-quality life they provide \u2014 a metric known as \u201cquality-adjusted life year\u201d (QALY). <\/p>\n
Under the deal between London and Washington, this threshold will rise to \u00a325,000-\u00a335,000 alongside other technical changes to assessment methods, the first time the QALY metric has increased since Nice was set up in 1999. <\/p>\n
Benger played down the impact of the rise, saying it would result in only \u201ca few more medicines being approved every year that would otherwise not have been approved. Maybe three or four or five.\u201d <\/p>\n
However, the pharmaceutical industry hopes the change has set a precedent for further increases to Nice\u2019s threshold and has pressed for it to rise with inflation, warning that the UK is becoming a less competitive<\/a> investment destination.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be problematic if we keep moving the QALY threshold, and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a strong argument for index linking,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a diminishing return if you go up and up.\u201d<\/p>\n Those wanting to boost the UK life sciences sector \u201cwould get more value out of looking at the whole, wider system\u201d, from regulation to research funding and clinical trials, added Benger, who was previously chief medical officer at the watchdog. <\/p>\n Although Nice has consistently approved nine in 10 medicines it assesses, pharma companies have said an increasing number of drugs are not being launched in Britain because of low prices. <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/6e7dbe19-ae5d-46e4-8745-87082eedcac2.jpg\")
About 9 per cent of UK healthcare spending is on medicines \u00a9 Matthew Horwood\/Getty Images<\/p>\n