The competition supervisory body has commenced an inquiry into drug companies alleged of charging the NHS too much prices. The company who has broken the law could face fines of up to 10% of its international earnings.
The investigation relates to suspected unfair pricing by way of charging excessive prices in the supply of certain pharmaceutical products, including to the National Health Service.
The pharmaceutical company Concordia International has revealed that it is part of the inquiry that the Competition and Markets Authority would not disclose how many companies were caught up in the inquiry into suspected undue pricing.
The CMA inquiry into suspected breaches of competition law was commenced on 25 October 2016 and will gather preliminary proof before a decision is made as to whether or not to carry on further by February 2017.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for the CMA to investigate in June 2016 after an investigation by The Times asserted companies were breaking off the NHS by buying the rights to old drugs and dropping existing brand names. The information about the case, set out on the CMA website, states: “The investigation is under Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98) and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Date: 27th October 2016