In the News
Anti-competitive behaviour - UK drug companies fined £260m for inflating prices for NHS
![](https://tutor2u-net.imgix.net/user-photos/graham-watson.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=100&q=80&w=100)
15th July 2021
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined a UK drug company £260m for inflating the price of hydrocortisone tablets for a decade.
We’ve found a number of drug firms broke competition law by overcharging the NHS for lifesaving medication and agreeing not to compete to bring prices down.
— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) July 15, 2021
We have fined them over £260m in total.
Read more: https://t.co/MR86GG9pMC pic.twitter.com/ckUOBTaiND
Accord-UK, which was made up of Auden Mckenzie and Actavis UK, were able to increase the price of a 10mg packet of tablets from 70p in April 2008 to £88 by March 2016 using a variety of tactics, not least paying potential rivals not to enter the market.
As a result, the NHS was forced to pay higher prices for the drug.
The head of the CMA is quoted as saying:
“These are without doubt among the most serious breaches we have uncovered in recent years. Our fine serves as a warning to any other drug firm planning to exploit the NHS.”
I pose a simple question: why isn't this a criminal case?
Hasn't the company defrauded the taxpayer of millions of pounds? And haven't the executives of the company been well-rewarded for doing so? It seems that fines are just another cost of doing business as directors seek higher profits, remuneration and dividends
UK drug companies fined £260m for inflating prices for NHS https://t.co/Auyk0qnk2g
— The Guardian (@guardian) July 15, 2021
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