Record drug price concession numbers show supply chain ‘volatility’

Record numbers of price concessions shows the ‘fragility and volatility’ in the medicines supply chain, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has warned.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted a record 204 medicine price concessions for April, with further requests still being negotiated.

It is the second month in a row that concession numbers have hit record highs, following the department announcing 201 improved reimbursement prices for March.

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CPE said this was a ‘concerning trend’ that reflected the fragility and instability in the medicines supply chain, which is being intensified by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

James Davies, director of research and insights at CPE, said: ‘We have had a record number of price concessions recently, and while these indicate pricing issues rather than necessarily meaning there are medicines shortages, they show that the medicines supply chain is under increasing pressure, which is only likely to get worse in light of the conflict in the Middle East.

‘This pressure is playing out in community pharmacies where teams are spending hours every day trying to get the medicines their patients need.

‘It is also having a financial impact, and the underfunding of community pharmacies continues to lead to pharmacy closures, with an average of one pharmacy closing each week in England.’

CPE said it is ‘deeply concerned’ about the impact of this instability on pharmacy owners and their teams as procuring medicines becomes ‘ever more complex and time-consuming’.

It also said it had received ‘thousands’ of reports from pharmacy owners which have been analysed to create evidence for price concessions.

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And, because of CPE’s representations to the DHSC on behalf of pharmacy owners, some medicine reimbursement prices have increased from those announced earlier this month.

CPE thanked all the pharmacy owners who submitted evidence and urged them to continue doing so using the ‘Report product over Drug Tariff price’ form.

It also pledged to press government for wider solutions to ongoing volatility in the supply chain so patients can continue accessing essential medicines.

Tabarak Sadik, a pharmacy owner in Barnet, London, recently told The Pharmacist that the cost of common medicines like aspirin and bisoprolol had ‘skyrocketed’ leaving many pharmacy owners with an impossible choice.

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‘Do we dispense at a loss or let a patient go without their life saving blood pressure medication? This is now a decision we're having to make dozens of times a day,’ he said.

Mr Sadik added that the current system – whereby the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) temporarily raise the reimbursement price of these medicines – does not go far enough.