UK competition watchdog accuses Actavis of 'excessive and unfair pricing'

16 December 2016

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accused generic drugmaker Actavis UK of breaking competition law by raising the price for hydrocortisone tablets paid by the National Health Service.

Actavis UK has increased the price of 10mg hydrocortisone tablets by over 12,000% compared to the branded version of the drug which was sold by a different company, namely the Merck Sharp & Dohme subsidiary of US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK), prior to April 2008. For example, the amount the NHS was charged for 10mg packs of the drug rose from £0.70 in April 2008 to £88.00 ($109 at current exchange rates) per pack by March 2016.

The company also increased the price of 20mg hydrocortisone tablets by nearly 9,500% compared to the previous branded price, equating to charges to the NHS of £102.74 per pack by March 2016, when it had previously paid £1.07 for the branded drug. De-branded (genericized) drugs are not subject to price regulation.

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