The UK’s competition watchdog has imposed fines of more than £100m on the pharmaceutical company Advanz and its former private equity owners after it was found to have inflated the price of its thyroid tablets by up to 6,000%. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the private-equity backed pharmaceutical company charged “excessive and unfair prices” for liothyronine tablets, which are used to treat thyroid hormone deficiency. The CMA said that between 2007 and 2017, the price paid by the NHS for liothyronine tablets rose from £4.46 to £258.19, a rise of almost 6,000%, while production costs remained broadly stable. Advanz will be fined almost £41m, and two of its former private equity owners – Hg Capital and Cinven – will pay penalties of £8.6m and £51.9m respectively. In 2018, a year after the CMA first accused the company of abusing its position, Concordia changed its name to Advanz Pharma.

Source: The Guardian July 29, 2021 07:21 UTC