Profiteering chemists cash in by selling life-saving drugs to European clinics

[Cees Binkhorst]

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Sick chemists & hospitals sell drugs for profit

Groet / Cees

Sick trade in NHS medicines: Profiteering chemists cash in by selling
life-saving drugs to European clinics
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252407/Sick-trade-NHS-medicines-Profiteering-chemists-cash-selling-life-saving-drugs-European-clinics.html
By Jenny Hope and Pat Hagan
Last updated at 11:10 PM on 19th February 2010

NHS patients are being put at risk because profiteering pharmacists are
selling prescription drugs to Europe.

Unscrupulous speculators cashing in on the weak pound have created a
shortage of at least 40 drugs, a Daily Mail investigation has found.

They include treatments for cancer, high blood pressure, Parkinson's and
high cholesterol.
chemist

Profit: NHS patients are being put at risk because drugs are being sold
to Europe

Among well-known drugs on a critical list are Arimidex and Femara, both
for breast cancer, Actonel tablets for osteoporosis and
cholesterol-lowering statins.

Of most immediate concern, however, are shortages of drugs for
schizophrenia and leukaemia and immunosuppressants to prevent organ
rejection in transplant patients.

More...
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/02/19/article-0-086098EA000005DC-481_468x467.jpg

     * Making a killing: Hospital sells vital drugs abroad for £300,000
profit despite warnings the practice is 'unacceptable'
     * British patients left in lurch as lifesaving medicines are sold
abroad
     * DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Why the NHS selling our drugs to Europe is a
sickening trade
     * Children at top hospital had to wash in buckets

As many as one in ten pharmacists, as well as wholesalers, dispensing
doctors and even NHS hospitals are making money in an export trade worth
an estimated £360million a year.

Government guidance condemns it as unethical, but there is nothing
ministers can do as it is entirely legal for drugs to be traded in this
way within the EU.

The problem became critical after the pound collapsed against the euro
-  making it worth selling high-value drugs abroad because the price
here was relatively low.

With desperate patients worried about getting their medicines, many
pharmacists are spending hours on the phone trying to track down scarce
supplies.

Manufacturers have set up emergency hotlines to ensure deliveries.

Sandy Craine, founder of the CML Support Group UK, said there were
increasing reports of difficulties for patients with chronic myeloid
leukaemia getting hold of the drug Glivec, which keeps the disease at bay.
GUILDFORD

Royal Surrey County in Guildford made £30,000 exporting drugs to Europe

She said: 'Last week a woman in Derbyshire was told she couldn't have
her usual three-month supply. She could only have a month's supply at
the wrong dose  -  she would have had to break up tablets to try and get
the right dose.

'She was very distressed and drove for an hour and a half to see a
specialist at a Nottingham hospital where she could get a prescription
from the pharmacy. But she was told even they are having trouble with stock.

'This is a big problem and it needs to be sorted urgently.'

Research by consultants IMS suggest as many as 11 per cent of the 12,600
UK pharmacies could be exporting drugs, along with a small proportion of
dispensing doctors and some wholesalers.

It is estimated that £30million worth of medicines meant for NHS
patients are being diverted to Europe each month.

The scale of the trade is shown by figures from the Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the body which grants the
licences needed to export drugs to the EU.

Last year 203 new licences were issued, almost twice as many as the
previous year. It brought the total to 1,357. This year there have
already been over 100 applications for the £1,737 licences.

At least one hospital, the Royal Surrey County in Guildford, exported
drugs to Europe last year, making a £300,000 profit.

It stopped in January  -  six months after being told by the
Government's chief pharmacist that the practice was unethical  -  and
says it never sold drugs on the short-supply list.


Junior health minister Mike O'Brien, who has called a summit of those
involved in the supply chain on March 2, says there is 'increasing
concern' over the actions of a 'few unscrupulous people'.

He said: 'Some pharmacists are getting calls asking if they have
particular medicines and offering to buy them for export for a bigger
profit.

'Some have been tempted by the rewards.'

Richard Ascroft, director of corporate affairs at drug maker Lilly UK,
said: 'We are definitely concerned about this. Drug prices in the UK are
among the lowest in Europe for a number of reasons and this has created
opportunities for export trading.

'We are over-supplying the market to make sure patients are not left
without the medicine they need, but we do believe longer-term solutions
need to be put in place.'

John Turk, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, denied
pharmacists were cashing in.

He said: 'The vast majority of community pharmacists have nothing to do
with exporting medicines. In the face of shortages, they are putting in
hours of extra work each day sourcing medicines to ensure timely supply
to patients.'

Neil Paton of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said he 'did not
recognise' the figure of one in ten pharmacists trading abroad.

He said: 'We need to look again at the supply chain to make sure
patients can get the medicines they need when they want them.'

Tory spokesman Mark Simmonds said: 'The rise in the number of dealer
licences being issued is extremely concerning.

'I have been calling on the Government to tackle this issue for many
months, and I am concerned that Labour's recently trumpeted summit is
not taking place until next month.'

The Department of Health said the legal and ethical duties of ensuring a
'smooth supply' of NHS medicines have been made clear to everyone
involved. It said there had been no breaches of those duties so far.

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts
below, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.

get real - we live in a capitalist country - can't blame them.

- dale martin, bexhill england, 20/2/2010 07:43
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Well, well, well, not a single European country is named ! I wonder why
? let me explain, thios article implies one of 2 things. Either prices
in England are rock bottom or that European countries are in need of
medicines....then the question is which European countries......

Lets just then answer the question, the mafia like countries which are
also unethical......besides has anyone ever supposed that the medical
corporation was ethical......that's a joke and one has the proof herewith !

I love the stint about export licences....I am in the medical business
and sell to 32 countries....no licence whatsoever is
required...sometimes a local registration ! The next question would then
be are these medicines registered in all countries? (of course they are
for EC countries as registration is now European)

- Edouard, Toulouse, 20/2/2010 07:28
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My pharmacist has been scrapping around trying to get me Bonviva for
months, now I know the reason why.

- katiebrit44, Dorset, UK, 20/2/2010 07:01
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How can it be "sick"? It makes good commercial common sense. The real
world not the world of Nu-Labours money grows on trees dogma.

- mike, London, 20/2/2010 06:11
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My local pharmacy has been having this problem with getting adequate
supplies of Cell Cept for more than a year. In other words, since the
pound crashed. So much for the simpletons who think that a weak pound
can only be a good thing. Just look what it's doing to inflation.

- Steve Cox, Porthcawl, UK, 20/2/2010 05:51
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Another 'benefit' to add to the list for the EU!!

- Mo, London, 20/2/2010 05:36

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