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Charles Joynson, WaveData MD, investigates Ivabradine price trends.
In August, this product has had the highest concession price of any of the 76 products with concessions granted. We’ve looked at the trends in the minimum prices by supplier since the beginning of 2022 to see if there is a relationship between the different suppliers and the minimum prices, the English drug tariff and concession prices.
Diagnostic Blood Test Strips. Are they Maintaining Their Pharmacy Prices?
Normally we expect branded devices to maintain their pharmacy purchase prices over long periods of time. However, here this is not the case. Charles Joynson, WaveData MD investigates further. Looking at the long term market price trends of Freestyle Optium Test Strips...
Increases in the prices pharmacists have to pay for Atorvastatin have been much in the news recently. However, are other statins also increasing in price?
Charles Joynson, WaveData MD decided to investigate further.
Firstly all packs of Atorvastatin Tabs have seen price increases in recent weeks except the 60mg 28 and the 30mg 28 packs. It may be that they are used less frequently and the pressure on supply is less intense. The four main 28 Tablet packs of Rosuvastatin have all seen price increases, but Simvastatin and Pravastatin have not.
Long term price cycles in Olanzapine Orodispersible Tablets
This group of schizophrenia medications recently occupied half of the top positions in the Generics Bulletins biggest risers list as discussed by the editor Dave Wallace recently. Looking at the long term there does appear to be a super cycle in place with a period of about 72 months or 5 years between each price spike.
How fast can generic prices recover after a price rise?
It is well known that UK generic prices tend to be lower than those in Europe and that the UK recovers faster after shortages and price rises. Typically this recovery takes months, but here is a case where a product recovered in days. Charles Joynson, WaveData MD, puts a spotlight on Letrozole pricing over the last couple of months.
Morphine Sulphate Solution for Injection Amps 30mg/1ml 10 Long Term UK Market Price Trend
Since Feb 2022 the market price for this Category C product has risen from around £9 to over £20. However, for the eight years prior the prices were stable and the drug tariff remained on or just above the average UK market price. Despite an increase in reimbursement at the end of 2017 there was very little profit to be squeezed from this critical care pain killer.
Long Term UK Market Price Trend of Gentamicin Ear / Eye Drops 0.3% 10ml
Until May 2021 this Category C product had stable pricing and very little profit potential. The average market price between July 2013 and April 2021 was £2.08 and the tariff £2.39, giving pharmacies £0.31, and manufacturers and wholesalers even less. In May 2021 prices rose substantially and since then the average tariff has been £24.10 and the average market price £12.30, leaving a healthy profit of £11.80 for pharmacies and the rest of the supply chain.
Atorvastatin hitting price highs across all strengths in May
With millions of prescriptions each year, ever growing demand and volatile prices statins are almost always on the WaveData Top 10 Generic product search list. In the month of May we saw all strengths of Atorvastatin Tabs 28 Packs feature on the Concessions List, and...
WaveData Case Study – Bespoke Reports: Generics Market Assessment
Client X is launching a new generic product into the UK market, they were looking for data to assess market potential, support their forecasting and feed into the commercial strategy.
Our Customer Success Manager and Data Team worked closely with the Client’s Portfolio Manager and Commercial Manager to ensure we provided the right data for their project needs.
WaveData investigates the ongoing shortage of Naftidrofuryl Caps 100mg 84
Since Jan 2021 Naftidrofuryl Caps 100mg 84 has been granted concessions in 25 out of 29 months…….
WaveData Analysis | Long Term Pricing Trends | Aripiprazole Tabs 5mg 28
This product was launched in December 2014 and has had a reasonably stable price there after. The average price came down very quickly, reaching stability by mid 2016. However, since then this product has experienced a couple of price bounces where the average price rose unexpectedly, concessions had to be granted and increases in the drug tariff followed. Monitoring the price and setting a low watch point could help us identify a future bounce.
How serious is the issue of shortages in the UK Pharma market asks Charles Joynson?
There are two primary ways in which shortages are flagged for pharmacists and dispensers. The first is the granting of a concession for generic products and the second is the product’s addition to the NHS’ serious shortage protocols (SSP) list. These have both been operating for some years and the number of products in each has been growing. The number of generic concessions granted each month has risen to nearly 200 whilst the number of SSPs is approaching 20.
This is the situation at present….. However, there is a threat that shortages might get much worse. This is driven by the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) and by the rebates paid back by manufacturers of branded and branded generic drugs as part of this scheme. Previous analyses by Wavedata have suggested that 22% of branded medicines and 49% of branded generics do not have sufficient profitability to survive the high rebates and are likely to be removed from sale in the UK.
Ten Years of Generic Galenical (Liquid) Market Prices
The liquid forms of common medicines are often forgotten about when the focus is on their big sister the solid dose forms. However, liquid forms of common generics have been shown
to maintain high prices for long periods because there is less competition between manufacturers for these more niche products.
Will the Windsor Framework stop the decline of available medicines in Northern Ireland?
One of the main objectives of the Windsor Framework is to provide a permanent solution to safeguarding the supply and access of medicines into Northern Ireland. We can see from our historical data that there has been a steady decline of the number of products that are available in Northern Ireland, will the trend be reversed once the new Green Lane is open?
DHSC SSP announcements hitting Paracetamol 240g Suppositories
With last week’s DHSC SSP announcements hitting Paracetamol 240g Suppositories, we’ve taken a look at long term pricing trends, and the most recent data in our Live system.
Antibiotic prices soar and availability plummets
The prices pharmacists and dispensing doctors pay for antibiotics have risen in recent months amidst shortages and concessions. The product which rose the most between Jan 2022 and Jan 2023 was Co-Amoxiclav Tabs 500mg/125mg 21 which rose from an average price of £1.39 in Jan 2022 to £8.50 in Jan 2023, an increase of 512%.
Is the VPAS Scheme doing more harm than good? Part Two…….
VPAS continues to be one of the top priorities for the UK Pharma Industry. A week or so ago, we undertook some analysis on Originator Brands, assessing profitability and UK market attractiveness. If the rebate is unsustainable, and results in loss making products for manufacturers, we could see withdrawal from the market, driving supply challenges and increases in market pricing.
Is the VPAS Scheme doing more harm than good?
Although the aim of the VPAS scheme is to support innovation and better patient outcomes, alongside keeping a lid on the NHS drug budget, could the scheme actually be doing the opposite? If the rebate is unsustainable, and results in loss making products for manufacturers, we could see withdrawal from the market, driving supply challenges and increases in market pricing.
Statins prescribing to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events
We’ve all read the latest from NICE on the revised recommendations for the use of Statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. It’s been widely shared that there are currently 10 million eligible patients in the UK, and this could rise to as many as 25 million with the new advice. WaveData’s ScriptMap service tells us that a little over 95 million prescriptions were issued for Statins in the last full year of available data, so we could be looking at almost 240 million prescriptions under the new guidelines.
The Largest Antibiotic Price Rises Jan to Dec 2022
With the recent increase in bacterial infections and the shortage of Strep A antibiotic drugs such as penicillin and amoxicillin, Wavedata thought it worth looking at all the antibiotics used in the community in the UK to see which have experienced the greatest price rises.
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