UK's Competition and Markets Authority has accused Actavis of jacking up prices for life-saving hydrocortisone tablets over the course of 8 years, bringing additional fuel to the drug pricing issue in the UK.
Actavis, which was acquired by Teva earlier this year, raised the price of the 10 milligram packs of tablets from roughly 88 cents to $110. The drugmaker also increased the price of 20 milligram hydrocortisone tablets by nearly 9,500%, resulting in charges to the UK National Health Service of $128.32 per pack by March 2016.
"This is a lifesaving drug relied on by thousands of patients, which the NHS has no choice but to continue purchasing," said Andrew Groves, CMA senior responsible officer, as quoted in the Investors Business Daily.
Earlier in December, the Competition and Markets Authority fined Pfizer 84.2 million pounds ($106 million) and Flynn Pharma 5.2 million pounds after they increased prices by as much as 2,600 percent in September 2012.
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