Is the NHS being taken for a ride on drug prices? We need to know | Nils Pratley

The competition watchdog is investigating, but we need a wider inquiry into pharmaceutical firms’ practices

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has discovered a rich seam for inquiries – pharmaceutical companies allegedly gouging the National Health Service.

Pfizer, together with a small UK company called Flynn Pharma, was fined £90m last December for “excessive and unfair” pricing of an anti-epilepsy drug. GlaxoSmithKline and two small firms were later hit for £45m for conspiring to delay competition on an anti-depressant. Now comes an accusation that Canadian firm Concordia Healthcare abused its dominant position to overcharge the NHS on a thyroid treatment; the price of the drug rose by almost 6,000% while production costs remained “broadly stable,” says the CMA.

Related: Drug firm Concordia overcharged NHS with 6,000% price rise, says watchdog

Continue reading... November 22, 2017 at 12:23AM