First wave of Category H medicines prices published
The prices for the first wave of category H medicines have been published.
The March 2026 Drug Tariff, published by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), shows that reimbursement prices for five products have decreased while the remaining six have increased compared to their previous Category C prices.
Community Pharmacy England said that Ursodeoxycholic acid 500mg tablets (100) has the largest price decrease of £10.93, whereas Isosorbide mononitrate 25mg modified‑release capsules (28) saw the largest price increase of £1.31.
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Category H is a subset of Category C for branded drugs with more than one supplier that was introduced by the DHSC in the face of objections from pharmacy leaders.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) objected to the introduction of Category H due to the wider challenges pharmacies are currently facing and the risk that further changes could add more uncertainty and supply chain instability to an ‘already fragile’ system.
Earlier this month Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said the change appeared to add ‘further layers of complication to an already unfair system that is not fit for purpose and acts as a barrier to much needed reform of our healthcare system’.
CPE has encouraged pharmacy teams to report any Category H products that are unavailable to purchase at or below the stated Drug Tariff price using their online feedback form.
CPE will investigate these reports and request price concessions if required from DHSC, it said.
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The Category H reimbursement prices for the first 11 products are:
| Product | New Category H price | Previous Category C price | Price increase or decrease |
| Cinchocaine 5mg / Hydrocortisone 5mg suppositories | £4.31 | £5.08 (Proctosedyl) |
↓ £0.77 |
| Doxazosin 4mg modified‑release tablets | £5.24 | £5.00 (Cardura XL) |
↑ £0.24 |
| Etodolac 600mg modified‑release tablets | £15.56 | £15.50 (Lodine SR) |
↑ £0.06 |
| Isosorbide mononitrate 25mg modified‑release capsules | £5.53 | £4.22 (Elantan LA25) |
↑ £1.31 |
| Nicotine 4mg medicated chewing gum sugar free | £10.18 | £13.57 (Nicotinell) |
↓ £3.39 |
| Omeprazole 10mg dispersible gastro‑resistant tablets | £9.44 | £9.30 (Losec MUPS) |
↑ £0.14 |
| Omeprazole 20mg dispersible gastro‑resistant tablets | £14.04 | £13.92 (Losec MUPS) |
↑ £0.12 |
| Omeprazole 40mg dispersible gastro‑resistant tablets | £6.92 | £6.96 (Losec MUPS) |
↓ £0.04 |
| Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 60mg tablets | £3.02 | £3.00 (Sudafed Decongestant) |
↑ £0.02 |
| Ursodeoxycholic acid 500mg tablets | £69.07 | £80.00 (Ursofalk) |
↓ £10.93 |
| Verapamil 120mg modified‑release tablets | £7.67 | £7.71 (Half Securon SR) |
↓ £0.04 |
Category H prices will be updated quarterly with the next change in June 2026, while Category C prices are currently updated monthly, CPE said.
According to the NHSBSA, the price of Category H drugs will be calculated using information from suppliers obtained under the Health Service Products (Provision and Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2018.
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These regulations require manufacturers and wholesalers to provide sales and volume information associated with products purchased for NHS use.
DHSC will be using lagged data to set Category H reimbursement prices due to the time taken to gather the data and calculate reimbursement prices.
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