Tue 5 Nov 2019, 03:39 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour Party member
Dispatches reporter, Anthony Barnett, examined the consequences of any possible trade deal between the UK and the Trump administration. He interviewed a young mum who suffers from Crohn’s disease, a debilitating bowel condition. Her life was transformed when she was prescribed a drug called Humira. Her prescription isn’t cheap and costs the NHS £1400. However, in the US it costs over £8000.
The drug was developed by a US company and the cost of prescribed drugs are greater in the US than in any other state. Trump and the Republicans blame ‘global free loading ‘ for this, which includes the NHS who have negotiated a lower price. Trump and the giant US pharmaceutical companies have made it clear that any post-Brexit trade talks will include the price of drugs sold to the NHS.
Barnett interviewed a doctor, Andrew Hill, an adviser for the World Health Organisation, who stated that the current cost of drugs in the NHS is around £18 billion. If Trump and Co get their way, the cost would spiral to £45 billion. This represents a third of all the spending on the NHS. Johnson and the Tories claim that drug pricing won’t be on the table for trade negotiations, but you can be sure it will.
A former trade negotiator suggested that the US would be in a stronger position than the UK, post Brexit. Mexico, South Korea and Canada have all made major concessions on drug pricing as part of trade deals with the US. A source within the Department of Trade told Dispatches that officials have already met on five occasions and despite Johnson’s claims to the contrary, drug pricing was on the table.
It appears that the issue of drug pricing will be called ‘valuing innovation’ instead. As Hill stated, we need to keep our eyes wide open when it comes to a trade deal with Trump and big Pharma. A Tory Brexit and a trade deal with Trump would only benefit big business. Those gathered around Left-Horizons believe that working people and their families’ interests are not only served by voting Labour, but also joining the Party and fighting for a Socialist Society.
