Watchdog scrutinises drug price hike deal

TWO pharmaceutical companies have been accused of breaking competition law, resulting in the price of a drug nearly doubling in the UK.

Actavis UK, which is owned by India’s Intas Pharmaceuticals, and Canadian company Concordia could face hefty fines following claims from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that they were responsible for a huge jump in the price of hydrocortisone tablets in the UK between 2013 and 2016.

The CMA alleges that Actavis incentivised Concordia not to enter the market with its own generic, competing version of the hydro cortisone tablets during this time.

As a result, Actavis remained the sole supplier in the UK throughout most of this period, during which the price per pack rose from £49 to £88. As the drug had lost its patent, it was no longer subject to price regulation by the NHS.

The CMA opened the investigation in April last year and will wait for responses to its provisional findings from the companies involved before determining whether the law has been broken.

A spokesman for Concordia said: “We believe that the conduct was not in breach of competition law. We will review the CMA’s provisional position and then intend to respond in detail to it.”

This is the fourth time in a year the CMA has cracked down on drugs pricing.