Dec 1 (Reuters) – The UK is poised to agree on a major pharmaceuticals deal with the U.S., which will mean zero import tariffs on pharmaceutical products into the U.S. and lead to an increase in NHS spending on medicines, The Times reported on Monday.

The UK government is understood to have agreed to lower an industry sales rebate rate on NHS drug prices and to also improve the NHS’s cost-effectiveness measure for drugs, the report said, citing industry sources.

The British government will commit to increasing the percentage of the NHS budget that it spends on medicines, it said.

Reuters couldn’t immediately verify the report.

(Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in BengaluruEditing by Bernadette Baum)

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