From Mr C.V. Hammond, FRPharmS
SIR,-We should be grateful to Mr Kitchen for drawing our attention to the price of Alvedon 125mg suppositories (PJ, May 27, p810). Having retired for some years now, I needed to look up the composition of this item.
Mr Benson's comments in justification of the price are, in my view, somewhat flawed. "The profit made by a manufacturer," he says, "is NHS price, minus wholesaler discount, minus manufacturing, marketing and distribution costs." This may be fair if the starting price is reasonable.
Something must be wrong if Astra Zeneca is unable to produce paracetamol suppositories at a cost that is not much greater than similar products produced by other manufacturers. Mr Kitchen has quoted the prices of a number of general sale list suppositories. Indocid 100mg costs £1.11 for a pack of 10. If this price was used as the basis for a retail price as outlined by Mr Benson then it would sell at approximately £1.96. With this calculation, I cannot see how Astra Zeneca's "wish to make a small profit" works out. The Government may be happy to receive £3 for the transaction compared with what would be 29p in my example. Astra Zeneca may be "committed to supporting health professionals", but I think that the whole process should not be at the expense of the patient or the pharmacist's stock cost. It is not surprising that "the prices we charge for Alvedon have not changed since 1997".
Victor Hammond
Southport, Merseyside