This is about hiking the price of 'life saving' hydrocortisone tablets by over 10,000 per cent. Interestingly the two companies named here are Accored and Auden McKenzie which operated under the name Actavis UK in 2015. (Actavis UK was then bought by Accord Healthcare).
The watchdog boss says, 'Our fine serves as a warning to any other drug firm planning to exploit the NHS.' What about those already exploiting the NHS?
It's a pity they haven't yet; as far as I know; slapped them with a fine for the hiking of Levo prices.
It's about time that prices were checked. If T3 can be bought abroad at a very low price, why is it so high in the UK which is extortionate and was the perfect excuse to have it withdrawn from being prescribed.
It's so frustrating reading that article. The CMA criticised the huge price increase and yet didn't slap a fine on pharmaceutical company or companies as they have done for hydrocortisone.
From the Evening Standard article: "The CMA said Auden Mckenzie’s decision to raise prices for de-branded drugs meant that the NHS had no choice but to pay huge sums of taxpayers’ money for life-saving medicines.”
WHY did the NHS have no choice? There must be other suppliers abroad who they could buy from? Does NHS have no free will?!
I’d like to know this too! Is it about big company takeovers, patents, paying other smaller companies not to compete…?
If T3 can be made so cheaply there is a great big similar stitch up somewhere. The NHS won’t prescribe ‘expensive’ T3 to patients who won’t need to pay for it because they’re exempt from prescription charges.
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Pfizer fined £84m for ripping off NHS
Times report on Extionate drug pricing
