NHS: Drugs
(asked on 14th February 2019) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the (a) availability of (i) Lossartin, (ii) Furosemide and (iii) Nicarindil and (b) prices beyond the NHS tariff that community pharmacies have been charged by the suppliers of those products since September 2018.
The Department is not aware of issues affecting the availability of losartan, furosemide or nicorandil tablets and can confirm that supplies of these three medicines are currently available. We are aware that there was a short-term supply issue affecting furosemide 20mg and 40mg towards the end of 2018 due to manufacturing delays, but this issue has now been resolved and supplies remain available.
When community pharmacies cannot purchase a medicine at or below the reimbursement price listed in the Drug Tariff, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (the representative body of pharmacies), drawing on reports they receive from pharmacy contractors, can request the Department to consider setting a concessionary price.
When considering whether to grant a concessionary price, the Department uses market data from suppliers, i.e. manufacturers and wholesalers on prices and stock levels intended for retail pharmacy businesses in England. If granted, a concessionary price applies only to prescriptions dispensed for the month for which it was granted.
From September 2018 onwards, the trends for these generic medicines that have been granted concessionary prices can be seen in the attached tables.
It should be noted that as concessionary prices for February are still in process, no prices have been published yet. More information on the list of concessionary prices granted for each month can be found at the following link: