News Update - liothyronine

[lynmynott]

The Daily Mail today have published an article about the huge cost of liothyronine. They report that the cost has risen by 4,600% in ten years. The cost is now £204.39 for a 28-day course.

However, the article tells of one patient who travels to Greece to obtain her T3 at a cost of £1 for a packet of 30.

We are grateful to the Daily Mail for bringing this to the public's attention yet again.

In respect of The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into suspected excessive and unfair pricing of Liothyronine (T3) have received information from Improve Thyroid Treatment about the current state of the case against Advanz Pharma:

"On 30 January 2019, the CMA issued a Supplementary Statement of Objections (SSO) to Advanz Pharma (Advanz) (formerly Concordia) setting out its provisional view that Advanz had abused its dominant position in charging unfair and excessive prices for Liothyronine

Advanz sought a judicial review to delay the Liothyronine investigation until the outcome of other litigation relating to a different excessive pricing case involving the drug Phenytoin, was known.

On 13 June 2019, the High Court ruled in the CMA’s favour in the judicial review.

While the judicial review has caused delay in the Liothyronine investigation, the High Court Judgment in favour of the CMA means it can now continue its work. The case team is currently waiting for a response to the SSO and there will be oral hearings shortly after this has been received.

The CMA says that it will continue its investigation irrespective of the UK’s exit from the EU, because it is being conducted under both the UK’s Competition Act 1998 and under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

It added that the Liothyronine investigation continues to be an enforcement priority for the CMA and that it will be driving the case forward as expeditiously as possible. The case against Advanz commenced in October 2016."

We await further news....

You can read the Daily Mail article here:

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

You can read the High Court Judgement here: tinyurl.com/y2ubp687

[Hidden]

Have just been reading the article page 51 in today's Daily Mail highlighting the use of T3.I was started on treatment when my TSH was 4.8 .I can't imagine what depths I would have descended to if I'd had to wait until my TSH was 20 or if indeed I would still have a life!! A lot more research is obviously needed.

Good news though that competition will drive the cost of T3 down inUK.

Patients shouldn't be having to search around the world for T3 not even knowing whether it is authentic or not and risking sending money abroad.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hidden]

There are now 3 suppliers....but price of all three is virtually identical and has been ever since two new licenses were issued in 2017. So has not had desired effect on reducing prices

Has only lead to very slight price drop from £256 for 28 tablets of 20mcg Liothyronine

German T3 is 31 Euro for 100 tablets of 20mcg Liothyronine