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The companies making and selling branded generics could simply launch generics and compete with each other for market share. However, having their own brand names allows them to improve the quality of the product in various ways to help the clinician and patient. So they can improve the taste and acceptability of oral dosage forms, improve the products’ resistance to temperature variations, or improve the pack size to better fit with GP prescribing.  Some manufacturers even do rebate deals with prescribing groups so offer rebates or additional services which can help clinicians.

In July 2022 a £13.65 concession price was granted to help pharmacists during a time of shortages and price rises. This product has seen its average market price, paid by pharmacists and dispensing doctors, declining gradually from over £60.00 in 2012 to less than £2.00.

The prices pharmacies and dispensing doctors pay for statins in the UK is  very variable with prices for packs ranging from £0.01 to £14.64.

When the market price of a generic product declines to a point where manufacturers can no longer make a profit, they may decide to cancel or not commission the next batch of stock. Consequently, the price goes up as the available stock in the market declines. The low price that triggers the spike in value does seem to be reasonably consistent, although some variability exists.

Since July 2013 the average price of Tranylcypromine Tabs 10mg 28 has risen from £101.69 to £364.52 in July 2022. The English Drug Tariff has also risen from £92.00 in July 2012 and is now £487.08 which means that pharmacies can make a profit of £122.56 on each pack they buy.

All the Paracetamol Suspensions being sold to pharmacists and dispensing doctors in the UK have risen in price over the last 10 years. This is likely to be a consequence of increasing manufacturing costs and the growth in demand for these products. 

Between February and September 2021 the department of health and social care (DHSC) granted concession prices to Etoricoxib Tabs 90mg 28 to help dispensers during a time of shortage and high prices. Wavedata thought it would be interesting to analyse the actual prices offered to pharmacies and dispensing doctors to see how fast prices recovered after the shortage, and how quickly a normal picture was restored.

This article illustrates two things. The first is that UK prices do often go through rises and falls on a semi-predictable periodic basis. The second is that the UK market is highly competitive.

The rate at which the generic product price is likely to drop will depend on the number of license holders. So, fewer than 3 will produce a very slow price decay rate, and more than 20 will be very fast.

Alendronate Tabs 70mg 4 is a product subject to occasional price rises, with the gaps averaging of 46 months or 3 years and 10 months, which suggests that the next peak will happen in about April 2026.

The prices offered to or paid by pharmacists of dispensing doctors in the UK is incredibly variable because of the UK’s free pricing of medical products.

The pricing strategies of UK wholesalers and manufacturers are highly variable, with some suppliers trying to keep prices stable and avoiding big changes, whereas others react to market conditions by making big changes.