The reason as to why drugs in the UK cost less is because the National Health Service is tax-payer funded, which provides free health care to over 64 million people, that means the UK has more negotiating power with the drug companies to lower the drug prices. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) determines which drugs are most cost effective. The agency NICE usually only covers drugs that cost less than 30,000 pounds ($39,000 USD), if a drug is to expensive it's makers can attempt to make a separate deal with UK's Department of Health. Although having free health care is beneficial, it does have it's flaws. Many drug companies say that the lack of money funded to them through these expensively over priced drugs leaves them with less money to develop new life saving drugs, also it can take years for the UK to get new drugs because of this whole process.
