Author: Caroline Donoghue

CMAC and the MHP Group created a series of three webinars for patient organisations to help them understand the policies and processes that affect access to medicines and build their capacity to engage with decision-makers and support patient-centric outcomes. The webinars are open to all charities with an interest in access to medicines. There is…

At the end of 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) held a five-week consultation on proposals to give new ministerial powers to set the value at which medicines used by the NHS are deemed affordable and made available to UK patients. The Charity Medicines Access Coalition (CMAC), a coalition of 31 health…

On 1st December 2025, the government announced a new UK-US trade deal for medicines. The deal includes an agreement to zero tariffs on UK pharmaceutical exports and preferential rates for MedTech exports. The Government also announced that it will invest around 25% more in innovative, safe, and effective treatments. To enable this, they announced the following changes:…

The review of the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAG), expected in Autumn 2025, has been brought forward and is due to conclude at the end of June 2025. The Charities Medicines Access Coalition (CMAC), a coalition of 26 health charities representing millions of patients across the UK, is calling for the Government and…

CMAC responded to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s consultation on their proposed changes to the routing criteria for Highly Specialised Technology (HST) evaluations. CMAC were pleased to see a focus on HST and ultra-rare diseases and a consultation to provide further clarity and transparency about HST routing; however, we felt the proposed…

CMAC responded to the Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation on the commercial framework. The consultation was the first of two consultations on the Commercial Framework that the DHSC had committed to as part of the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access agreement. This consultation focused on potential commercial opportunities that…

The Charity Medicines Access Coalition (CMAC) joined forces with other coalitions and health charities to publish a statement following the Commercial Framework consultation calling on the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England to conduct a more comprehensive whole system review, which identifies where all the problems lay and produces real and integrated…

CMAC responded to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s consultation on their interim methods and processes statement for including NICE technology appraisal recommendations in guideline topic areas. CMAC was supportive of NICE’s aim to reduce variation by making its information more cohesive and accessible and promoting the uptake of clinical guidance.  However, we…

CMAC responded to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s consultation on their integrated topic prioritisation and strategic principles. CMAC was supportive of NICE’s proposal to introduce a single prioritisation board to guide guidance development. However, we had concerns about the transparency of decision-making, the level of patient and public involvement in the process…

Together with the Blood Cancer Alliance and Cancer52, we wrote an open letter to the Department of Health and Social Care and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry asking them to ensure charitable organisations were involved in the upcoming review and renewal of the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS). Dear…