Posted by Michael Wonder on 19 Oct 2016
Aspen fined over huge price hikes
19 October 2016 - Company found to have overcharged for older-generation cancer drugs in Italy
Major South African generic drug manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare has been fined ß5-million (R76.4-million) by Italian competition authorities for pushing the prices of older-generation blood cancer drugs sky-high, potentially disrupting their supply.
Aspen, which has extensive operations in Port Elizabeth, started manufacturing generic medication in South Africa and now manufactures or supplies medicines in 150 countries.
It is the only supplier of these older drugs – used to treat some blood cancers and blood disorders – to Italy after buying the rights from GlaxoSmith Kline.
But the competition authority in Italy accused Aspen of aggressively trying to raise the prices of generic drugs by between 300% and 1 500%.
