CMA publishes prioritisation statement on combination therapies

Article summary

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a statement whereby it sets out the circumstances under which it will not prioritise enforcement action against drug firms when they implement a specific ‘negotiation framework’ to make more combination therapies available on the NHS. Combination therapies combine two or more individual drugs into one treatment and have become increasingly important to treat a range of serious conditions, especially cancers. They can provide better health outcomes than individual drugs because, in combination, these drugs can target a disease more effectively. However, they can only be approved for use on the NHS if they are shown to be ‘cost effective’. The CMA’s statement will only apply where certain market features are present and conditions are met. These include specific market features set out in the statement, the presence of a specific negotiating framework, the nature of the information exchanged, the terms of any agreement reached between the component...