The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7251 p739
31 May 2003

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

Related websites
York Health Economics Consortium (more)

Parallel imports save the NHS £228m

Parallel imports saved patients and the National Health Service over £228m (€342m) in 2002, according to the York Health Economics Consortium, a health economics consultancy. In the European Union, parallel trading in medicines saved €635m (£423m).

Overall, the saving is much greater, says the YHEC, because of the effect of parallel trade on price competition. Parallel trade represents the only form of price competition in the market for patent-protected medicines. The consortium warns that the savings could be at risk if manufacturers are allowed to restrict sales to wholesalers in countries where medicines cost less and from which parallel imports originate.

Taking a different view on parallel trade, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said last year that parallel trading cost the pharmaceutical industry in Britain £1bn a year in lost revenues (PJ, 19 October 2002, p556).