Pharmaceutical company Advanz has been fined over £100 million by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for inflating the price of thyroid tablets.
An investigation by the CMA found that between 2009 and 2017, Advanz charged excessive and unfair prices when supplying liothyronine tablets used to treat thyroid hormone deficiency. Advanz was able to increase the price liothyronine tablets by more than 6,000% from 2007, due to the tablets having limited or no competition.
In 2006, the NHS was spending £600,000 a year on the tablets, a price which increased to over £2.3 million in 2009 and to more than £30 million by 2016. In 2015, the NHS placed liothyronine tablets on its 'drop lists', leading to patients having their treatment stopped or meaning that they would incur the costs of prescriptions.
Many patients do not respond well to the main treatment for hypothyroidism, levothyroxine tablets – and instead rely on liothyronine tablets to alleviate symptoms such as extreme fatigue and depression.
Advanz’s price increases for liothyronine tablets were not driven by any meaningful innovation or investment, and volumes were found to remain broadly stable, with the cost of producing the tablet not increasing as well.
The CMA fined Advanz £40.9 million for the relevant period it broke the law. The two private equity firms HgCapital and Cinven, which were previous owners of part of Advanz were fined £8.6 million and £51.9 million respectively.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Advanz’s decision to ratchet up the price of liothyronine tablets and impose excessive and unfair prices for over eight years came at a huge cost to the NHS, and ultimately to UK taxpayers. But that wasn’t all – it also meant that people dealing with depression and extreme fatigue, as a result of their thyroid conditions, were told they could not continue to receive the most effective treatment for them due its increased price.
“Advanz’s strategy exploited a loophole enabling it to reap much higher profits. This fine of over £100 million, and our work in the pharma sector to date, sends a clear message that breaking the law has serious consequences.”