UK competition watchdog accuses firms of collusion on anti-nausea drug marketing

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that four pharmaceutical companies broke the law by agreeing not to compete in the supply of an anti-nausea drug in the UK, driving up the price paid by the National Health Service (NHS) by some 700%.

In a statement of objections issued today, the CMA alleges that, between June 2013 and July 2018, Alliance Pharma, Focus Pharmacy, Lexon and Medreich agreed not to compete for the supply of prescription-only prochlorperazine 3mg dissolvable or “buccal” tablets to the NHS. Prochlorperazine is an important drug used to treat nausea and dizziness, including for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Between December 2013 and December 2017, the prices paid by the NHS for prochlorperazine rose by around 700% from £6.49 per pack of 50 tablets to £51.68 ($65.45). From 2014 to 2018, the annual costs incurred by the NHS for prochlorperazine increased from around £2.7 million to around £7.5 million, even though the number of packs dispensed fell.