Drug shortages leading to price hikes may be market manipulation, notes The Times

Patients suffering with cancer and severe mental illness are being hit by drug shortages, costing the NHS £180 million in half a year, according a report published by The Times.

In the report, it states that ‘at least 100 drugs have been affected by supply problems’, which has led to official being forced to approve inflated prices to boost stocks. Some of these temporary price rises are as much as 4,000%.

An investigation is now underway by ministers to determine whether the market is being manipulated. According to some pharmacists, once price increases are approved the drugs become available immediately.

The director-general of the British Generic Manufacturers Association, Warwick Smith, suggested that there was something unusual happening and that these temporary price increases agreed upon by the government to cover drug shortages are on average 2.5 times higher than manufacturers’ charges.

“It’s not in manufacturers’ interest to exaggerate their price increases,” he said to The Times. “It doesn’t make them any money, it just makes them less popular. Something is going on somewhere else in the supply chain.”

Of the drugs affected by these shortages, some are used for the treatment of prostate and breast cancer and others for epilepsy as well as common anti-psychotic medications. A lack of accessibility to these medicines can cause a huge amount of anxiety to patients and may even cause quality of life issues if a change in medication is required.

The executive director of the Healthcare Distribution Association, Martin Sawer, insisted that large wholesalers (which the HDA represents) were not manipulating the market when discussing the findings with The Times. However, he stressed that there should be more scrutiny of smaller wholesale licence holders.