Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Competition and Markets Authority finding in 2022 that Pfizer and Flynn charged the NHS unfairly high prices for phenytoin sodium capsules for over four years, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the NHS from being overcharged for drugs.

The United Kingdom has well established systems for controlling costs and ensuring we get value for money for spending on medicines. For unbranded generic medicines the Department relies on competition to keep prices down. This has led to some of the lowest prices in Europe and allows prices to react to the market. In an international market this ensures that when demand is high and supply is low, prices in the UK can increase to help secure the availability of medicines for UK patients.

Where competition does not appear to be working, the Department alerts the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Where the CMA finds that a company has breached competition law by charging excessive prices it can impose a fine as well as order companies to reduce their prices. In those instances, the Department will seek damages and invest that money back into the National Health Service. Investigations and infringements decisions by the CMA are publicly available on the CMA’s website.