Department of health, not Treasury, will foot the bill – with costs forecast to reach £9bn

The cost of the government’s drug pricing deal with the Trump administration will come out of the NHS budget instead of the Treasury’s and could eventually reach £9bn a year, campaigners fear.

Patrick Vallance, the science minister, has confirmed that the costs – initially an extra £1bn over three years– will be borne by the Department of Health and Social Care, which funds the NHS in England, and not the Treasury.