CMA found private-equity backed company charged \u2018excessive and unfair\u2019 prices<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s competition watchdog has imposed fines of more than \u00a3100m on pharmaceutical company Advanzand its former private equity owners, after it was found to have inflated the price of thyroid tablets by up to 6,000%.<\/p>\n
An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the private-equity backed pharmaceutical company charged \u201cexcessive and unfair prices\u201d for liothyronine tablets, which are used to treat thyroid hormone deficiency.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
From 2007 Advanz took advantage of limited competition in the market to bring in sustained price hikes for liothyronine tablets, often used by patients suffering with depression and fatigue, of more than 6,000% in the space of 10 years, according to the investigation.<\/p>\n
The repeated price increases led to NHS spending on the tablets to soar from \u00a3600,000 in 2006, before the price increase strategy was implemented, to more than \u00a32.3m by 2009, and as much as \u00a330m by 2016. The liothyronine tablets were placed on the NHS \u201cdrop list\u201d in July 2015, causing many people who relied on the drug to face the prospect of having their treatment stopped or having to purchase liothyronine tablets at their own expense.<\/p>\n
The CMA said this was \u201cparticularly concerning\u201d because many patients do not respond well to the main treatment for hypothyroidism \u2013 levothyroxine tablets \u2013 and rely on liothyronine to treat their extreme fatigue and depression.<\/p>\n
Advanz will be fined almost \u00a341m, while two of its former private equity owners \u2013 HgCapital and Cinven \u2013 will pay penalties of \u00a38.6m and \u00a351.9m respectively.<\/p>\n
Dr Andrea Coscelli, the chief Executive of the CMA, said: \u201cAdvanz\u2019s decision to ratchet up the price of liothyronine tablets and impose excessive and unfair prices for over eight years came at a huge cost to the NHS, and ultimately to UK taxpayers.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that wasn\u2019t all \u2013 it also meant that people dealing with depression and extreme fatigue, as a result of their thyroid conditions, were told they could not continue to receive the most effective treatment for them due its increased price,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the CMA\u2019s \u00a3100m fine, and other work in the pharmaceutical sector, would send \u201ca clear message that breaking the law has serious consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n
The CMA two weeks ago imposed fines totalling more than \u00a3260m on pharmaceutical companies which overcharged the NHS for almost a decade for hydrocortisone tablets, which tens of thousands of people rely on to treat adrenal insufficiency.<\/p>\n