Repaglinide is an oral antihyperglycemic agent used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.
The average market price for this medicine normally hovers around the £5 mark but in late 2019 the drug tariff started to come down from over £10.42 toward £5.47 by February 2021. This induced a corresponding fall in the market price from the £5 down to a minimum of £2.79 by May 2021. This caused a manufacturer pullout and consequently market prices rose to £9.43 by autumn 2021 Thereafter the market gradually saw re-entry of manufacturers and the increased competition which drove the market price down to £5.18, back to where it had been five years before. However, this time, the shock may have been too much for the market and prices have risen dramatically in the last couple of months, reaching an average of £25.47 by mid October. Concessions have been granted on both occasions, but it does look as if this particular high price peak may take awhile to recover. The last one took five years.
The good news for patients and pharmacies is that other packs are still available at normal prices. Though both of the 1 mg packs (30s and 90s) are affected by this price increase, neither the 0.5 mg or the 2 mg are affected.