NEW cancer drugs cost the UK the lowest on average compared with other high-

income nations, according to a new study.

The research, published in The Lancet Oncology journal, showed the UK – with Greece, Spain and Portugal – paid the least per unit for new drugs under patent, while Germany, Switzerland and Sweden paid the most.

Experts called for “far more transparency” in drug pricing, citing fears that some nations risked “overpaying” for treatments.

Total healthcare spending on cancer in the European Union was €51 billion (£37bn), a third of which went on drugs, according to the report.

Researchers analysed the June 2013 prices of 31 drugs and compared them across 18 countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

They found that costs for the countries varied from 28 and 388 per cent of official prices, while seven of the drugs had a unit price of higher than €1,000 (£723), including one for lymphoma and myeloma patients that cost more than €5,000 (£3,612) per injection.

In one example, taxpayers in Germany were paying 223 per cent more for a drug to treat melanoma and leukaemia than those in Greece.

Dr Sabine Vogler, from the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies (WHO PPRI) in Vienna, Austria, said: “Some high-income countries have managed to barter the manufacturers down to lower prices, but these agreements, including the agreed prices, are confidential.

“Although these agreements ensure patient access to new drugs, other countries risk overpaying when setting drug prices through the common practice of external price referencing, or international price comparison, because they can only use the official undiscounted prices as a benchmark.

A group of experts led by Wim van Harten from the Netherlands Cancer Institute also analysed actual drug prices in July this year, and found hospitals are paying prices which differ by up to 58 per cent between countries.