Soaring price of antidepressants leaves pharmacies out of pocket
ANTIDEPRESSANT prices have soared by more than 800 per cent during the lockdown, leaving pharmacies struggling as they contend with a mounting mental health crisis, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
The Department of Health has been forced to step in to reimburse pharmacists for the inflated prices they are paying on common medications for treating depression, such as sertraline.
There have been shortages of sertraline globally, with a price hike driven by countries such as China and India putting export restrictions on one of its active ingredients.
The scale of the problem has now been laid bare in figures released by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, suggesting the drug is selling at more than 823 per cent above its usual price. It comes at a time when Britain is expected to see a surge in the number of people requiring mental health treatment due to the psychological strain of living under lockdown.
The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies said it had heard reports of an increase in antidepressant prescriptions, forcing many pharmacies to make a financial loss just to dis- pense the medication.
A concession price is offered by the Department of Health on hard-hit medication, usually set at the lowest amount it is believed the drug is available in reasonable quantities and sertraline was previously judged to have a standard list price – or drug tariff – of about £1.55 for 100mg of tablets, according to the price concession list produced by the PSNC, which represents NHS pharmacy contractors.
However, as the coronavirus crisis intensified in March, a price concession was put in place for sertraline to reflect the supply shortage, with the same dosage this month valued at £14.32.
Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the AIMP, told The Daily Telegraph: “It is such a big issue in regards to one antidepressant that is quite common, sertraline, it cannot be easily stopped for another one. It is stressful for patients because there have been a lot of shortages around sertraline.
“In a lot of places, and despite the fact it has been put on the concession list, pharmacies end up making a loss when dispensing it.
“This is really causing a lot of stress for pharmacies because they are operating on a loss and they are out of pocket to give it to the patient, if they can get hold of it.”
The PSNC said the Covid-19 outbreak had also led to some patients requesting a longer duration for their prescriptions, which risked putting additional strain on the supply chain.
It is now locked in further discussions with the Government to try to secure a “bigger intervention”, a spokesman said, as price concessions are seen as a temporary measure.
The British Generic Manufacturers Association, which represents the country’s generic drug industry, said it hoped the inflated price of sertraline would be a short-term issue.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “Fluctuations in price for generic medicines is to be expected, but companies must not capitalise on the pandemic by charging unjustifiably high prices, and the Competition and Markets Authority can investigate and take action if necessary.”