April continued the trend in recent months for generics’ buying prices to
continue to favour dispensing GPs, according to exclusive DDA data
analysis by Wavedata.
In April it was considerably easier to find risers than it was to find fallers. This shows that
the market is suffering from a lack of time to make good pricing decisions. Products which
stood out strongest among the risers were three packs of pregabalin caps, two packs of
escitalopram tabs and two packs of sertraline tabs. The only product to stand out among the
fallers was ramipril tabs. Both sumatriptan tabs and gabapentin tabs/caps had lines in both
the risers and fallers.
However, in parallel imports, buying has become a difficult area for both GP and pharmacy
buyers. Parallel import prices have risen dramatically for GPs in the last couple of months
while for pharmacies the market has been very erratic. Any relaxation on ‘lock-down’,
reduction in GP workloads and a return to office-based working by suppliers should
contribute to prices returning to normality.
Fallers
A big drop in the English drug tariff (£2.70 to £2.21) at the beginning of April caused market
prices for lamotrigine tabs 50mg x56 to drop by 40.9 per cent. Despite equal numbers (five)
of key suppliers both reducing and increasing prices on the back of movement, the net effect
for the market was a downward movement in price. The best deals, below £1.20 could be
obtained from DE, CrossPharma, B&S, Cambrian Alliance, Alliance Healthcare, OTC Direct
and Elite.
During the month, the English/Welsh tariff price for nefopam tabs 30mg x90 increased
significantly (£5.66 to £13.80), but this prompted a curious mix of big price drops from four
suppliers, and increases from six others (with a net downward effect). The best deals in
April below £9.00 were from DE, AAH, Trident, Teva, Elite and Hambleton.
Ramipril tabs 2.5mg x28 was also noteworthy for an English/Welsh April drug tariff price
decrease – from £2.06 to £1.84. Suppliers’ response to this was mixed – with six reducing
prices, five increasing, and the rest keeping their prices unchanged from March. Again, the
net effect was a reduction overall. The best deals in April below £1.00 were on offer from
Ethigen, DE, B&S, Cambrian Alliance, Target, Sandoz, Trident, Strathclyde and Chemilines.
Risers
In April sertraline tabs 50mg x28 saw average price increases of 170.7 per cent as the
March English/Welsh tariff concession price was raised 38.5 per cent in April to £8.95. Only
a couple of suppliers kept offers at the same level as in March and none reduced their
prices. The best deals below £1.30 were available in April from Collinwood, Teva, AAH,
Alliance Healthcare, OTC Direct and Cambrian Alliance.
Sertraline tabs 100mg x28 also saw a DHSC price concession rise in April – but this time of
76 per cent to £14.07. Eleven suppliers increased prices during the month, while others
offered a mix of stable or decreased prices. The best deals in April below £2.00 were from
Alliance Healthcare, Cambrian Alliance, AAH and OTC Direct.
In April ten suppliers increased prices for metoclopramide tabs 10mg x28, as the DHSC
offered a concession price of £1.15 (27p above the April tariff price). The best April deals
below £0.90 were from Purepharm, Bestway, Cambrian Alliance, Trident, AAH, Ethigen, B&S
and Alliance Healthcare
Workload time pressures prompt market price rises
