Industry loses £770m to PIs, but benefits offset some loss
Parallel imports cost the UK pharmaceutical industry more than £770m a year, according to a study from the University of London’s Imperial College. This is almost half the latest estimate of £1.4bn made by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.
After taking into account the public benefit of lower prices, parallel
importing has a net negative impact on the UK economy of £290m,
says study author Stefan Szymanski.
Professor Szymanski suggests that the Government approach to parallel
importing is confused because the NHS encourages importing by clawing
back savings from community pharmacists, while the Department of Trade
and Industry is concerned about the impact of importing on the industry.
“If the Government believes that the prices paid for pharmaceuticals
represent a fair return for the patent holder then it should not seek
to actively
encourage parallel trade through the clawback scheme.”
The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal