NHS is ‘charged £100m too much by drugs firm’
A DRUGS firm was today accused of overcharging the NHS more than £100 million by increasing the price of an essential thyroid pill by almost 6,000 per cent.
Concordia was found, in a preliminary ruling by the competition watchdog, to have upped the cost of a packet of liothyronine tablets from £4.46 in 2007 to £258.19 by July last year.
The NHS spent more than £34 million on the drug last year, rising from £600,000 in 2006 — even though production costs had remained “broadly stable”, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.
The Standard was told that there were more than 50 price rises over the decade since it moved “off patent” in 2007 — with the total alleged “overcharge” to the NHS exceeding £100 million.
The hormone replacement therapy is used by about 13,000 UK patients to treat an underactive thyroid, a condition suffered by two in 100 people.
It is not the primary treatment for the condition, which can lead to depression, fatigue and weight gain, but is used when the standard treatment fails. Some commissioning groups have considered advising GPs and endocrinologists to stop prescribing liothyronine routinely because of the cost.
Andrea Coscelli, of the CMA, said: “Pharmaceutical companies which abuse their position and overcharge for drugs are forcing the NHS — and the UK taxpayer — to pay over the odds.
“We allege that Concordia used its market dominance in the supply of liothyronine tablets to do exactly that. At this stage, our findings are provisional and there has been no definitive decision that there has been a breach of competition law.”
The case is the latest CMA action against alleged unfair costs, with seven other inquiries now under way. Firms Pfizer and Flynn Pharma are appealing against fines of almost £90 million.
The CMA “statement of objections” has been sent to Concordia and the London private equity firms Cinven and HgCapital, which previously owned firms now part of Concordia.
Concordia said: “We do not believe that c o mp e t i t i o n l aw h a s b e e n infringed. We continue to work cooperatively with the CMA as it proceeds with its investigation.”