By Andy Fenwick, Worcester Labour Party, personal capacity.
The latest scandal to hit the Big Business Pharmaceutical industry is that the owner of Boots has overcharged the NHS for a mouthwash used by cancer patients. The high street chemist charged the NHS £3,220 for the medicinal mouthwash, which can cost a mere £93. The mouthwash – used by patients with sores caused by chemotherapy – is among a group of drugs known as ‘specials’. Boots has benefitted from a legal loophole that allows suppliers to set their own prices for these drugs, as specials are unlicensed medicines for non-standard treatments.
From 2013-2017, Boots charged £3,219 to supply three 200ml bottles, then £3,220 for the same amount, £1,843 for an 800ml treatment, £1,989.12 for 800ml and £6,374.25 for 2,600ml. Meanwhile in 2016, a pharmacy in West Sussex charged £31.14 for one 200ml bottle, the equivalent of £93.42 for 600ml, and it has been reported that in the USA it is possible to purchase the mouthwash for only $1 a bottle
We will no doubt hear carping and there will be hand-wringing from the Tory government about this gross profiteering. Already Steve Brine, Health Minister, said the British public would “take an extremely dim view of any company found to be exploiting our NHS and patients, and we have asked the Competition and Markets Authority to consider investigating as a priority.” But nothing will change for these rip-off merchants because the law enables no scrutiny. Where there is evidence of collusion between suppliers no action will be taken to claw back funds.
An NHS England statement then said: “Local GP groups are right to clamp down on situations where a company is attempting to rip off patients and taxpayers. Any company that does so should get the full force of civil and where appropriate criminal enforcement. All pharmacies should seek to secure best value in preparing ‘specials’ for patients.” This is the greatest piece of flannel the Tories could come up with. This a David and Goliath situation where local GP groups do not have the resources to be taking on huge multinational corporation. No doubt if it did happen, the Tax Payers’ Alliance would take the GPs to court for “wasting taxes”
This is not an isolated incident. Ever since the NHS was formed 70years ago suppliers have been overcharging. Drug companies see the NHS as a soft touch and plenty of examples exist to demonstrate that. Drug firm Concordia, for instance, overcharged the NHS with a 6,000% price rise; the Canadian firm overcharged by £100m on a thyroid drug with the price per pack rising from £4.46 to £258 in 10 years.
Then there was the drug company Actavis, which overcharged the NHS by 12,000% for hydrocortisone tablets between 2008 and 2015 so that NHS spending on the drug rose from £522,000 to £70m. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer increased their charge to the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug by 2,600%.
The pharmaceutical industry is a leech on the NHS. Not only will it overcharge for products, but it will also cherry-pick promising research from universities and charities that we as tax payers and fundraisers have contributed to. It is also the case that the economic model followed by the drug companies is to create a lifelong dependency rather than a cure.
This was the case with stomach ulcers. Two Australian doctors who were researching what caused ulcers discovered they were caused by a bacterium called Helicobacter Pylori. The cure was readily available: antibiotics. But mainstream the drug companies, supported by gastroenterologists, were dismissive, holding on to the old idea that ulcers were caused by stress, and promoting expensive antacid treatments. It took one of the doctors to infect himself to prove his case but even then, drug firms lobbied hard to maintain the market position and drug regulators were reluctant to give the go-ahead for an antibiotics costing pennies.
We cannot talk about keeping the NHS public as long as these big pharmaceutical companies are draining it dry. It is time to bring the big pharmaceutical companies under public control and management so their research can be properly integrated with charity, academic and NHS research and their production can be geared to best use and not profiteering.
May 29, 2018
