Dame Chi Onwurah, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, has written to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, to warn that urgent changes to the processes behind pricing and uptake of new medicines and health technologies are needed to restore confidence in the UK’s life sciences sector.
This letter comes after the Committee held evidence sessions in September and October 2025 with pharmaceutical companies, representatives from NICE, the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) and the government.
The Chair outlines the sector’s concerns about the UK’s current system of pricing, uptake and access to medicines and technologies, stating that NICE’s processes are “needlessly complex.” She warns the government that the sector has “lost confidence in the credibility of successive UK governments to deliver” in this area.
The letter expresses concern about the influence of US trade talks on the UK’s domestic life sciences and health policy.
The committee may revisit this issue in due course, and will follow the progress of negotiations with the US and announcements in the upcoming Budget.
The Chair asks the Health Secretary to provide details on how the government will ensure US trade negotiations do not compromise domestic health policy ambitions, and how the government will work to restore confidence within the life sciences sector. She has given the Health Secretary until 26 November, the day of the Budget, to reply.
