Today we thought we’d have a look at Pletal (Cilostazol) for which we can see the appearance and disappearance of parallel imports in the UK.
Pletal was first launched into the UK in 2007 and is used for the treatment of intermittent claudication, a condition associated with leg pain and poor circulation. The first sign of parallel imports was in September 2009 with a single data point, which may have been importers testing the market for the first time. The launch proper happened in July 2010 with 14 entries in the price lists sent to dispensing doctors and pharmacists. After this there was a very rapid take up with over 50 offers per month appearing in price lists by January 2011. Then there was a gradual erosion in this number until November 2015 when the number of offers dropped significantly.
During the same time period wholesale sell out prices dropped gradually from £32 to £25. The hiatus resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of price lists containing this product and a change from a well-controlled tightly banded range of prices to a highly erratic marketplace.
The likely cause of this market change was the introduction of the first generics in November 2013. Once these were on the market they undercut the parallel import, reduced demand for the brand, and caused importers to lose control of pricing. Thereafter prices gradually rose, but varied enormously from month to month. The inclusion of parallel imported Pletal in price lists remained roughly at about five entries per month, significantly down from their starting point a decade before. The last sign of parallel imported Pletal was in August 2021, and no more PIs have been seen since as the market has become dominated by generics.