LONDON, October 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare executives from around the UK voiced strong support for the economic value of medicines to modern society at the 18th annual PharmaTimes Great Oxford debate last week.

A large majority agreed with the motion 'This house believes that medicines deliver net savings to the nation', while 69 voted against it, following a lively debate in the world famous Oxford Union debating chamber which saw convincing arguments delivered by both sides.

Proposing the motion, Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, Chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, argued that even allowing for factors such as side-effects and expense medicines deliver savings in both wealth and health. He listed a catalogue of achievements in recent history, such as the development of antivirals to help people live longer with HIV. We don't need a sophisticated economic model to see that medicines have delivered massive savings, he stressed.

Sir Michael was seconded by Martin Mackay, President of Global Research at AstraZeneca, and supported by Sir Alasdair Breckenridge, Chairman of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Mackay pointed out that the increase in life expectancy from 1970-2000 alone has doubled GDP in the US, which he said can largely be attributed to medicines, while Sir Alasdair discussed the advent of personalised medicines that will help to further boost the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of new therapies.

Benefits questionable

Opposing the motion, Lord Norman Warner, former Minister of State, Department of Health, conceded medicines have delivered benefits and saved lives, but added: This motion is not about past glories, but whether the right balance is being struck now, arguing that the cost of new medicines is increasing but their value is shrinking.

Also opposing the motion, Professor Ken Patterson, Chairman of the Scottish Medicines Consortium, said a quarter of medicines assessed by the SMC in the last nine years offer no benefit above existing therapies, while only 9% offered a cost saving. New medicines are over-hyped, over-sold, over-priced and frequently do not represent value to the NHS, he argued.

Professor Nick Bosanquet, Head of Health Policy at Imperial College London, stressed the need for a different way forward with more accountability for the value of drugs.

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SOURCE: PharmaTimes

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