Senior Policy Advisor, Medicines Pricing
| Posting date: | 16 August 2024 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £53,116 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Leeds: £53,116; London: £57,114 |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 08 September 2024 |
| Location: | London |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 365080/2 |
Summary
In the Medicines Directorate, we work to make sure patients can access the best available treatments, whilst ensuring value for money for the NHS, and supporting support a flourishing life sciences sector. Working closely with the NHS, the Office for Life Sciences, and both patient and industry stakeholders, we aim to harness the benefits of new innovations and established treatments alike to improve health outcomes across the UK.
The medicines budget represents the second highest area of NHS spend after staff, and spend on medicines is increasing each year, so the work that we do to control spending is critical to the sustainability of NHS spending. The medicines pricing team is responsible for Government policy on how and what the NHS pays for branded medicines - from engagement with the Intellectual Property Office to make sure the patent system works for patients, to working with health and regulatory system partners on patient access to new innovations, to delivering strategies on delivering greater savings on older medicines.
In particular, we lead the implementation and operation of the 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access, and growth (VPAG), which is one of the largest commercial deals the Government has ever made and is expected to save the NHS around £14bn over the next 5-years. This scheme - along with its counterpart statutory regulations - forms the cornerstone of UK medicines pricing policy.
We are looking to expand the team to ensure that we have the capacity and capability to continue to drive improvement in an ever more complex system.
If you want to be part of an expert policy team that:
- is part of the solution to the biggest health issues impacting patients such as how to harness and fund advanced therapies for Alzheimer's.
- engages with cutting edge analytical and academic research.
- if you want to be at the coalface of high value commercial negotiations with the life sciences sector.
Then you should apply to join the medicines pricing team.
The successful candidate will lead policy development on a range of issues concerning NHS purchasing on branded medicines. Based on their experience and interests, they will be assigned a portfolio of policy areas to lead on - which indicatively could include areas such as intellectual property, biosimilars, international engagement, and others.
The candidate will draw together insights from academic research, industry feedback, and NHS, Devolved Government and other Government Department perspectives to build the evidence base for the impact of different approaches on patients, the NHS and the economy. In doing so they will build capability in the Department to cement our place a centre of expertise on medicines, the pharmaceutical market, and healthcare economics.
The successful candidate will ensure the effective governance and operation of the 2024 VPAG and the statutory regulations. In doing so they will be supporting the Department in driving savings to the NHS that are expected to be around £14bn over 5-years. As a member of the Department pricing committee, they will contribute towards deliberation and decision on how much is a reasonable price to pay for new medicines, and on applications for price increases for older medicines.
This is a great opportunity to work in a skilled, supportive, multi-disciplinary team (policy, operations, legal, analytical and commercial) on one of the policy areas critical to the efficacy of the NHS and one of the largest commercial deals ever agreed by Government.