Drug Tariff News

4th February 2026 - Source: Amanda Chell

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January Drug Tariff News

490 price reductions in January Category M adjustment

There are 10 additions and six deletions in the January (Q4) adjustment to Category M, taking effect from January 1, 2026.

In summary, there are now 614 lines in Category M. In this adjustment:

• 490 items are reduced in price, 16 by more than 40 per cent
• 189 prices are increased in price, 18 by more than 40 per cent

According to NHS BSA, changes to Category M reimbursement prices in January 2026 reflect:

• Adjustments for underlying market price movements during the quarter July -September 2025;
• The latest results from the quarterly Medicines Margin Survey which indicate a total cumulative over delivery of £158m at the end of June 2025.

As a result, the medicine margin adjustment applied to January 2026 is a reduction of £16.8 million per quarter. This will be applied across Categories M and A (approximately half of the total from Category A and half from Category M).

DDA members can view the detail of the Category M adjustment, and a fully updated spreadsheet of prices with history and sorted by price change and percentage price change, in the library of Category M updates.

Reference DDA website

Category H to join the Drug Tariff from March

Following consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE), this is advance notice for contractors that a new Part VIIIA category, Category H, will be introduced in March 2026.

Products currently in Category C, where there are multiple source products, will now move to Category H. Category H prices will be calculated using information from suppliers obtained under the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018.

Currently, the product reimbursement price listed in Category C is based on a specific product – often because it is the only brand available.

Eligible Category C products will move to Category H in a phased approach.

Reference DDA website

Additions to Part 2

14 item’s have been added to Part 2 of the January Drug Tariff, ones which I think you will find of interest are:

• Accu-Chek SmartGuide Sensor
• Compleat 1.5 HP tube feed liquid
• HCU Maxamum powder

Generally, items which fall into Part 2 of the Drug Tariff have no Wholesaler discount, you are potentially dispensing at a loss. You may consider sending the prescription away to a local Pharmacy to be dispensed.

Additions to Part 8a

Only 3 items have been added to Part 8a of the January Drug Tariff, ones which I think you will find of interest are:

• Diclofenac potassium 50mg tablets has gone into the Drug Tariff as a pack of 30, category C item with the reimbursement price based on Voltarol Rapid. Currently only AAH and Alliance have the rights to sell.
• Salbutamol 2.5mg/2.5ml nebuliser liquid unit dose ampoules has gone into the Drug Tariff as a Category C with a reimbursement price of £16.25 (based on Teva UK Ltd). You can purchase this item for as little as £4.34 making a healthy margin.
• Salbutamol 5mg/2.5ml nebuliser liquid unit dose ampoules has gone into the Drug Tariff as a Category C with a reimbursement price of £22.00. Again you can purchase this item significantly below tariff at around £9.00 hence a healthy margin.

Deletions to Part 8a

8 Items have been deleted from the January Drug Tariff, ones which I think you may find of interest are:

• Acetylcysteine 200mg oral powder sachets, pack of 30 has been removed from the January Drug Tariff. This item was discontinued in September 2025. The Sugar-free version is still available.
• Chloramphenicol 250mg capsules has been removed from the September Drug Tariff – again this was discontinued in September 2025.
• Minocycline 50mg tablets have been removed from the January Drug Tariff. This item was also discontinued in September 25.

As a reminder Items which have been removed from the Drug Tariff part 8A can still be prescribed and dispensed but you will need to endorse the prescription with manufacturer, pack size and price paid.

Other Changes to Part 8a

60 items are listed in ‘Other changes’! DDS would strongly advise checking ‘Other changes’ however below are items which I think you may find of interest:

• Indapamide 1.5mg modified release tablets has moved from a Category C with a reimbursement price of £3.40 to a category M and now has a reimbursement price of £1.17. Currently this can be purchased around .95p.
• Testosterone undecanoate 1g/4ml solution for injection vials was sitting as a Category C with the reimbursement price based on Nebido. Has now dropped to a Category A but the reimbursement price has increased to £108.35. Currently this can be purchased around £30.00 so making a healthy margin. Previously Nebido was an item which DDS would suggest outsourcing – this is now more attractive to purchase in -house.

Ticagrelor 60mg and 90mg tablets have moved from a category C, where the reimbursement price was based on Brilique- is now sitting as a category M. The reimbursement price has dropped from £54.60 to sub £5.00. Both strengths can be purchased under tariff price but you may need to shop around

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