Charles Joynson, WaveData MD, drilled into this to see where the increase is coming from, demonstrating that it’s a mixture of parallel import and generics which are driving the rise.
– Parallel imports have risen from £22.73 in Sept 2013 to 26.24 in August 2023, up 15%.
– Generics on the other hand have increased from £15.24 in Sept 2013 to £20.27 in August 2023, up 33%.
The difference between these two rises is that the PI prices are far more variable than generic prices. The PIs follow a highly erratic trend with monthly prices shooting up and down. Generics on the other hand display much smoother price rises over time. This suggests that generic prices to dispensing doctors are being managed with great care. Prior to 2023 dispensing doctors tended to get much lower prices for their medical supplies, but since mid-2022, the prices offered to dispensing doctors and pharmacies have broadly fallen into line.
