A WATCHDOG claims a drugs firm hiked the price of a prescription drug by 6,000 per cent - leaving scores of patients across Cumbria without their medicine.

Residents across the county with an underactive thyroid were last year told they could no longer have liothyronine on prescription, with the NHS saying it had become too expensive.

It is said a number have gone on to develop other conditions as a consequence of having their liothyronine - or T3 - withdrawn, such as heart and blood pressure problems, high cholesterol, arthritis and depression.

Now, the Competition and Markets Authority has issued a provisional ruling that the Canadian firm, Concordia, that makes the drug 'abused its position' to force the NHS to pay hyper-inflated prices for the specialist tablets.

Morya Marshall, who runs the Cumbria Advisory Thyroid Service, described the early ruling as 'brilliant news for thyroid patients' across the area.

"For our members and people who need T3 anywhere, this is brilliant.
Moyra Marshall. Photo: LEANNE BOLGER

"We hope this is an indication that the price will drop in the future and prescriptions will be reinstated."

But bosses within the North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group said a review of prescription liothyronine was not on the cards.

A spokesman for the organisation, which until earlier this year was responsible for buying in health services for residents, explained the decision to halt its funding had been taken based on both cost and clinical effectiveness.

Mrs Marshall said people in the county had suffered a variety of complications since the withdrawal of T3 last year - while some had resorted to purchasing the drug from outside of the UK via the internet.

"We have been worried that some people are doing this, because it's not regulated and you don't know what you are getting," she said.

"Increasing the price of this drug so it became too expensive for the NHS was unfair and ridiculous in the way it was allowed to happen.

"It has had a real impact upon people's lives," Mrs Marshall added.

An investigation by the CMA found a single pack of liothyronine cost £4.46 in 2007.

In July last year, the cost had risen to £258.19 per packet, bringing the total bill to the NHS to £34m a year.

This was despite manufacturing costs remaining stable, the authority added.

Andrea Coscelli, CMA chief executive, said: "Pharmaceutical companies which overcharge for drugs are forcing the NHS – and the UK taxpayer – to pay over the odds for important medical treatments.

"We allege that Concordia used its market dominance in the supply of liothyronine tablets to do exactly that.

"At this stage in the investigation, our findings are provisional and there has been no definitive decision that there has been a breach of competition law.

"We will carefully consider any representations from the companies before deciding whether the law has in fact been broken."

A spokesman for North Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group said: "We are aware of the investigation carried out by the Competitions and Marketing Authority.

"The decision in December 2015 was taken based on an evidence based review of the risk, clinical, and cost effectiveness of liothyronine, along with national and international guidelines.

"To date no further discussions have taken place or are planned regarding this decision."

A spokesman for Concordia said: "We do not believe that competition law has been infringed.

"The pricing of liothyronine has been conducted openly and transparently with the Department of Health in the UK over a period of 10 years.

"Over that time, significant investment has been made in this medicine to ensure its continued availability for patients in the UK, to the specifications required by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK."

It added it would review the CMA's provisional findings and respond "in detail".


What is liothyronine?

It's a drug also known as T3.

It had been prescribed to people with an under-active thyroid who are unable to make the substance on their own.

T3 helps prevent a range of other conditions from developing, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and depression.

Why was it withdrawn?

Health bosses in Cumbria stopped prescriptions of T3 last year.

Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group described it as 'unaffordable' and 'difficult to justify'.


NHS drugs pricing - uncovered by a Cumbrian pharmacist

Barrow pharmacist Ben Merriman spotted the price of some drugs were being hyper-inflated once they became generic or debranded.


Pharmacist Ben Merriman. Photo: LINDSEY DICKINGS New drugs are sold under patent by their manufacturer for a set number of years.

Their price is strictly controlled.

But once they become generic - or can be made by other firms - controls are no longer in place because competition is supposed to drive the price down.

But some firms found a loophole to this and have been dramatically increasing the price of some less commonly prescribed drugs.

These include fusidic acid eye drops, used to treat conjunctivitis, which rose from £2.69 per bottle in 2012 to £29.06 per bottle in just three years - a mark up of 1,080 per cent.

Mr Merriman's discovery and brave whistleblowing about the practice led to the introduction of new legislation earlier this year which should stop price hiking in the future.