Bristol Myers Squibb Threatens to Exit UK Market Over Pricing Dispute

By Sally Pipes

Drug maker Bristol Myers Squibb has announced plans to charge identical prices for its new schizophrenia drug, Cobenfy, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The company warned that if British authorities refuse to accept these rates, it may withdraw from the market entirely.

The move signals a shift in leverage for American patients, who have long borne higher costs for pharmaceuticals compared to other nations. Critics argue that Britain and other countries have relied on price controls to underpay for medicines, forcing U.S. consumers to subsidize global research and development.

According to a RAND Corporation analysis, U.S. drug prices are 278% higher than in 33 developed countries and 270% above those in the UK. Foreign governments often cap prices through mechanisms like the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which evaluates whether new medicines offer sufficient value based on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). NICE’s benchmark of £20,000 to £30,000 per QALY—roughly $27,000 to $40,000—is seen as undervaluing human life, as it falls below the U.S. per capita GDP.

Such policies have kept drug prices low in the UK but left American patients paying disproportionately for innovations. As of 2022, British patients had access to just 59% of globally launched medicines between 2012 and 2021, compared to 85% in the U.S. Many breakthroughs owe their existence to revenue generated from the American market, which funds research that benefits patients worldwide.

The Trump administration has pushed for foreign countries to adopt pricing models aligned with U.S. standards, arguing that current systems unfairly burden American consumers. However, challenges persist, including intellectual property threats and restrictive health technology assessments.

Sally C. Pipes is President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute. Her latest book is “The World’s Medicine Chest: How America Achieved Pharmaceutical Supremacy – and How to Keep It.”