Price increase for Atorvastatin 80mg dispensed in July

The price concession granted for Atorvastatin 80mg tablets dispensed in July 2023 has increased following a successful appeal from the community pharmacy negotiator.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has announced the price concession has improved to a rate of £3.91, up from the previously imposed £3.45.

And it noted this revised price was ‘high enough to cover the costs being paid by the majority of pharmacy owners’ who had raised concerns with the negotiator.

In July, there had been an ‘exceptionally high’ volume of reports from pharmacies unable to obtain Atorvastatin 80mg tablets at the published Drug Tariff price, said CPE.

It added that it had submitted a request for a price concession early in the month but despite ‘prolonged discussions’ it was ‘unable to reach agreement on a price’. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) subsequently announced an imposed concession of £3.45 on 31 July 2023.

However, amid ‘ongoing concerns’ being expressed by pharmacies unable to purchase the tablets at this price, CPE said it ‘made further representations to DHSC and were successful’ in securing the revised price for prescriptions submitted as dispensed in July 2023.

Though the negotiator noted it was unsuccessful in securing a price adjustment for two other lines it had requested increases for in July, and that while it was continuing to push back on individual lines, it was also challenging the DHSC on the ‘accuracy and quality’ of its data used to determine concessionary prices.

In September, CPE is set to host a webinar on price concessions to help explain how the concessions system works, as well as to discuss ‘recent improvements’ to the process and to ask attendees for their questions and feedback for the government.