Lilly Links UK Investment to NHS Drug Price Hikes

Eli Lilly said it would restart investments it previously put on hold in the United Kingdom if the government agrees to regular increases in National Health Service (NHS) medicine prices and ends a rebate mechanism applied to branded drugs. The U.S. pharmaceutical group, which makes the weight-loss treatment Mounjaro , linked its investment stance to changes in how the UK pays for medicines.

The company paused planned UK investment last year, a move that was part of an estimated £25 billion in delayed or halted spending by multiple pharmaceutical firms. Eli Lilly is now in talks with UK ministers and has indicated it is optimistic an agreement could be reached by summer .

Among the ideas under discussion is a model that would connect payments for anti-obesity medicines to patient outcomes, including whether patients return to work. The company’s international business president, Patrik Jonsson , said UK medicine prices have been “far too low for far too long.”

The push comes alongside broader pressure from the U.S. pharmaceutical industry on UK pricing and access rules. In that context, the NHS cost-effectiveness thresholds for life-extending medicines have increased from £20,000-£30,000 to £25,000-£35,000 per year of life gained, according to the information provided. Those thresholds are a key reference point in decisions about which treatments are funded and at what price.

Separately, a previous U.S.-UK drug pricing arrangement included a UK commitment to pay 25% more for new medicines by 2035 . That pathway could lift annual spending by as much as £9 billion from the NHS budget, based on the figures cited.

A central dispute remains the rebate scheme that requires drugmakers to return part of their revenue from branded medicine sales if public health service use rises above an agreed rate. While the rebate is expected to fall in 2026 , Eli Lilly is pressing for the mechanism to be removed over time.

What is not yet clear is whether ministers will accept regular price increases and a timetable for ending the rebate, or how quickly any outcome-linked payment approach could be implemented. The timing and scope of any resumed investment also remain unspecified, even as the company signals it is seeking a deal within months.