THE UK drugs industry has called for urgent changes to speed up the way doctors adopt new medicines, after an unprecedented decline in sales over the past four months — the first slump since records began.

Vincent Lawton, president of the Association for the British Pharmaceuticals Industry, hit out at the reluctance of GPs to switch to new life-saving medicines when they are approved for use in the NHS.

“At times, the conservatism of British doctors borders on Luddism,” Mr Lawton said.

He added that rules were needed to force doctors to prescribe new treatments at the earliest opportunity. “There should be an obligation for GPs to take up new drugs as soon as they are approved. Doctors’ rewards should be linked to their prescription record.”

Mr Lawton said that immediate action was needed to support the UK pharmaceuticals market. “This is not just a blip. I am quite certain that without intervention the market faces a significant decline.”

According to IMS Health, an independent consultant, sales of branded and generic drugs fell 1.1 per cent during the first four months of the year, the first decline in more than 20 years. The take-up of new drugs in Britain ranks among the lowest in the developed world and the UK accounts for just 3 per cent of total pharmaceutical sales.

Mr Lawton also called on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the government body that ensures the NHS gets value for money from new treatments, to overhaul its appraisals process. At present NICE reviews new drugs at the time of their launch. GPs usually refrain from prescribing treatments until the review is complete, which can take up to three years. Mr Lawton said that NICE should delay its cost-efficiency appraisal until five years after the drug’s launch.

“You only find out the true economies of a new drug when it is in the wider population,” he said.

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