HEALTH secretary Wes Streeting has vowed not to let pharmaceutical companies “rip off” British taxpayers after talks with firms over drug pricing ended without resolution.

Discussions between Mr Streeting and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) concluded on Friday after they failed to agree on changes to a drug pricing deal. 

Speaking to the Guardian, Mr Streeting accused the companies of being “short-sighted” in their approach.

Under the terms of the current agreement — introduced under former prime minister Rishi Sunak — drug companies pay a percentage of their NHS sales income back to the taxpayer, designed to prevent health service costs from spiralling.

Ministers have undertaken a review of the clawback tax in recent months, after it rose unexpectedly to 23 per cent this year compared with a predicted 15 per cent, as NHS spending surged. 

Mr Streeting said he proposed changes that would have made the scheme £1 billion cheaper over the next three years, but the drug firms rejected the plans, saying they would be outweighed by the clawback payments.

He said that the ABPI’s failure to reach an agreement was “short-sighted and undermines our efforts to work collaboratively.”

“I won’t allow big pharma to rip off our patients or taxpayers,” he told the Guardian, although the government agreed to US demands that the NHS pay more for medicines when negotiating a trade deal with the Trump administration.

“We want the NHS to not only benefit from the revolution in life sciences and medical technology, but to drive it. 

“We remain committed to building equitable partnerships with the sector to deliver for our economy and our society.”

The ABPI said Britain’s clawback tax is out of line with other European countries.

Keep Our NHS co-chairman Tony O’Sullivan told the Star: “Wes Streeting’s commitment to partnership with private companies runs through his NHS Ten Year Health Plan like a stick of rock.

“AstraZeneca’s pre-tax profits globally rose 38 per cent in 2024 to $8.7 billion (£6.4bn), yet it ditched plans to expand its Speke vaccine plant when its UK concessions were challenged by the government. It will invest $50bn (£30.7bn) in Trump’s USA.

“Protests against major drug companies exploiting the NHS will need to be very loud to stop Labour caving in to [US President Donald] Trump and big pharma.”