On Thursday (July 15), Britain’s competition authority announced that several drugmakers had been penalised a total of more than 260 million pounds (US$360 million) for overcharging the government-run NHS healthcare system in relation to the supply of hydrocortisone tablets. According to the Competition and Markets Authority, the corporations engaged in activities such as buying potential competitors to keep them off the market, raising drug costs as the sole provider, and paying off competitors.
Actavis UK, Auden McKenzie, Allergan, Accord Healthcare, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Waymade Plc, Amdipharm, Advanz Pharma, and some Cinven businesses were all penalized by the regulator.
Actavis UK and Auden McKenzie will pay a total of 221.1 million pounds.
The watchdog said the companies charged the NHS “excessively high costs” for the steroid hydrocortisone, which is used to treat diseases in which the adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones, for nearly a decade.
“These were significant legal violations that unnecessarily raised NHS costs, decreasing money available for patient treatment,” CMA Chief Executive Andrea Coscelli stated.
“Our fine acts as a deterrent to any other pharma company attempting to profit off the NHS.”
The corporations could not be reached for comment right away./n
