Adalimumab prescribing across the NHS.
Adalimumab is the flagship biosimilar story in the NHS. Since the biosimilar switch programmes ran, spend has fallen sharply even as items have grown. Hospital dispensing dominates the picture, so the SCMD view matters more than usual.
The NHS in England dispensed 36 prescription items of Adalimumab in the 12 months to May 2026, across primary care and hospitals.
Spending on Adalimumab over those 12 months was £17k at net ingredient cost, the list price of what was dispensed before any discounts.
Items were up 0.0% on the previous 12 months.
0% of Adalimumab volume moved through primary care and 100% through hospital pharmacies.
Adalimumab ranks #6 of 11 chemical substances in Cytokine modulators / DMARDs (BNF 10.1.3), by items dispensed.
Among Integrated Care Boards, NHS Black Country ICB dispensed the highest volume of Adalimumab.
Source: NHS Business Services Authority open data (English Prescribing Data and SCMD), OGL v3.0. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated.
| Month | Items | Spend (NIC) |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 3 | £2k |
| April 2026 | 6 | £3k |
| March 2026 | 5 | £3k |
| February 2026 | 4 | £2k |
| January 2026 | 4 | £1k |
| December 2025 | 7 | £2k |
| November 2025 | 1 | £317 |
| October 2025 | 0 | £0 |
| September 2025 | 2 | £1k |
| August 2025 | 1 | £317 |
| July 2025 | 1 | £1k |
| June 2025 | 2 | £943 |
The same series as the chart, most recent month first. The full monthly history, as CSV, sits behind Apply.
0.0% of its class.
Adalimumab ranks #6 of 11 chemical substances in Cytokine modulators / DMARDs (BNF 10.1.3), by items dispensed in May 2026. The full class league, who's gaining, and the month-by-month share movement sit behind Apply.
Average items by calendar month across the full history, indexed to the annual mean.
Adalimumab across all 3 ICBs.
Every Integrated Care Board in England, shaded by how much adalimumab its GPs dispense per head of population. Hover an ICB to name it. The ranked figures for all 3 ICBs, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Darker shading marks where Adalimumab is dispensed most per head of population. Exact figures for every ICB, and the drill-down to practice level, are in the full report.
Zoomed out to the 7 NHS regions.
The same 12 months rolled up to NHS England's seven regions, ranked by intensity.
The teaser view.
Three rows each. The full 3-ICB view, every prescribing organisation, every strength and the hospital picture sit below the fold, behind Apply.
- 1 NHS Black Country ICB 5
- 2 NHS Kent and Medway ICB 4
- 3 NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB 3
- – + 0 more. Unlock the full 3-ICB table. Unlock →
- 1 NHS Black Country ICB +400.0%
- 2 NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB +309.1%
- 3 NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB +100.0%
- – + 0 more. Unlock every ICB, ranked. Unlock →
- 1 Adalimumab 40mg/0.8ml inj pre-filled disposable devices 28%
- 2 Adalimumab 40mg/0.4ml inj pre-filled disposable devices 25%
- 3 Adalimumab 20mg/0.2ml inj pre-filled syringes 19%
- – + 3 more. Unlock every strength and pack. Unlock →
Split of items across NHSBSA primary care and SCMD hospital dispensing.
Prescribing by deprivation.
Items per 1,000 registered patients by deprivation decile (1 = most deprived), practice deprivation weighted by where each practice's patients live. Read the shape rather than the absolute level: the most and least deprived deciles cover far fewer practices, and age structure drives much of the gradient.
The devolved nations.
| Nation | Items · 12 months | Data to |
|---|---|---|
| England | 36 | May 2026 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | May 2026 |
| Scotland | 11 | April 2026 |
| Wales | 4 | April 2026 |
Each nation publishes its own community prescribing data, with different coding and list rules, so read these per-nation rather than as an exact UK total. Sources: NHSBSA (England), Public Health Scotland.
What open data won't tell you about adalimumab.
Most adalimumab is hospital-dispensed. Hospital data comes through SCMD and can lag by four to six weeks. Brand-versus-biosimilar split is visible at pack level but attributing a switch to a specific manufacturer contract is inference, not fact.
Asked and answered.
Is adalimumab prescribing rising or falling in the NHS?
Rising. England dispensed 36 items of Adalimumab in the 12 months to May 2026, up 0.0% on the previous 12 months. Items count prescriptions dispensed, not patients treated, so the change can reflect dose and duration shifts as well as patient numbers.
How much does the NHS spend on adalimumab?
£17k at net ingredient cost in the 12 months to May 2026. Net ingredient cost is the list price of the medicine before discounts and rebates; the NHS's final bill, especially for hospital medicines, is usually lower.
Where in England is adalimumab prescribed most?
By raw volume, NHS Black Country ICB dispensed the most adalimumab in the last 12 months. Raw volume favours the biggest populations; the map on this page shades every ICB by items per head to correct for that.
How up to date is this data?
This page runs to May 2026, the most recent NHSBSA release. Prescribing data publishes roughly six to eight weeks in arrears, and DoseTrend refreshes within 48 hours of each monthly release.
The full breakdown.
Every ICB, every prescribing organisation, every strength, the hospital view, and the monthly briefing PDF. Sample rows shown below with the numbers obscured.
Related pages.
See the full molecule directory, or read about the data and pricing.
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