Colluding drug firms 'cost the NHS millions of pounds'

[Northerner]

Four pharmaceutical firms have been accused of illegally colluding to restrict the supply of an anti-nausea tablet, driving the price paid for it by the NHS up by 700%.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the cost of Prochlorperazine rose from £6.49 per pack to £51.68, after suppliers agreed not to compete.

The drug is often prescribed to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

One of the firms named, Alliance Pharma, denied the allegations.

In a statement of objections, the CMA says that between 2013 and 2018, the annual cost of 3mg dissolvable Prochlorperazine tablets increased from approximately £2.7m to £7.5m, even though the NHS dispensed fewer packs during that period.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48377232

 

[mikeyB]

I don’t understand why it should suddenly increase in price. It’s a generic medicine, about 50 companies produce it under a slew of names. It’s dead easy to produce, that’s why so many companies make it. This is just greed.

And all those companies couldn’t suddenly find their production costs going up all at the same time if there wasn’t a coordinated plan.