Drug companies face accusations of secretly colluding with pharmacists to overcharge the NHS millions of pounds, following an undercover investigation by The Daily Telegraph.
Pharmaceutical firms appear to have rigged the market in so-called "specials" – prescription drugs that are largely not covered by national NHS price regulations.
The prices of more than 20,000 drugs could have been artificially inflated, with backhanders paid to chemists who agreed to sell them.Representatives of some companies agreed to invoice chemists for drugs at up to double their actual cost. Chemists would then send inflated invoices to the NHS, allowing them to pocket the difference. Tonight, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, ordered an investigation into the allegations, which he described as "deeply concerning". "We have always been absolutely clear that NHS money should always be spent wisely for the benefit of patients," he said.
"Any specific information received indicating or alleging fraud will be investigated by NHS Protect."
Tens of thousands of the "special" drugs are not on the nationally controlled NHS price list and so costs can be manipulated by drug companies.Sales representatives for drug firms were secretly recorded by this newspaper offering to provide apparently falsified invoices allowing chemists to bill the NHS for sums far greater than they would spend. Another firm offered to pay an annual fee to chemists who agreed to offer its prescription drugs.
Dhruv Patel, the head of unlicensed pharmaceutical sales at Pharmarama International Limited, told undercover reporters: "You get an invoice with a price which you stamp and submit [to the NHS]." The chemist would then be given a "credit note" by the company which "will show what you pay us and that’s 50 per cent less than the value of the invoice". When one of the reporters asked how much the "rebate" or "discount" was usually, he said it was 50 per cent. This means that the NHS is being charged twice as much for the drug as chemists actually pay.
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"Any specific information received indicating or alleging fraud will be investigated by NHS Protect."
Tens of thousands of the "special" drugs are not on the nationally controlled NHS price list and so costs can be manipulated by drug companies.Sales representatives for drug firms were secretly recorded by this newspaper offering to provide apparently falsified invoices allowing chemists to bill the NHS for sums far greater than they would spend. Another firm offered to pay an annual fee to chemists who agreed to offer its prescription drugs.
Dhruv Patel, the head of unlicensed pharmaceutical sales at Pharmarama International Limited, told undercover reporters: "You get an invoice with a price which you stamp and submit [to the NHS]." The chemist would then be given a "credit note" by the company which "will show what you pay us and that’s 50 per cent less than the value of the invoice". When one of the reporters asked how much the "rebate" or "discount" was usually, he said it was 50 per cent. This means that the NHS is being charged twice as much for the drug as chemists actually pay.
More on this story here
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