The warning from the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee came in advance of the Autumn Budget in which chancellor Rachel Reeves has been predicted to announce a US trade deal that could a hike in UK drug prices.

In a letter to health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, said: ‘It was clear from our October session that US trade talks are taking precedence for ministers over their own goals for the UK life sciences sector. We are concerned about the influence that the US appears to have over UK domestic policy in this area.'

The letter warned of a US-led global shift to ‘prioritising national competitiveness over global health outcomes …. reducing collaboration and slowing progress on access to medicines, vaccines, and other vital innovations worldwide'.

It said the committee will be keeping ‘a close eye on negotiations with the US, and on the Budget, and may revisit the issue'.

The committee called for a response from Streeting by the Autumn Budget on 26 November on how the Government will ensure that trade discussions with the US do not compromise the UK's domestic health policy objectives, particularly around affordability and access to medicines.

Nuffield Trust senior policy analyst, Sally Gainsbury said: ‘The committee is right to call for greater clarity and transparency around both NICE and negotiations on branded new medicine prices as current processes are poorly understood. The combined impact of NICE's current cost effectiveness threshold and the mandate given to its recommendations is that NHS commissioners are effectively forced to prioritise expensive innovative treatments over far more cost effective existing services. This will likely become further exacerbated if the NICE threshold is raised further. Claims made by industry and echoed in the committee chair's letter that higher NHS spending on pharmaceuticals and medical technology will support economic growth and ultimately higher levels of well being are neither quantifiable nor scrutinised.'