Healthy Skepticism Library item: 11010

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Dyer C.
UK drug industry challenges government's action.
BMJ 2007 Jul 14; 335:(7610):63
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7610/63

Abstract:

The trade body representing the drug industry is taking the UK government to court over its attempt to encourage doctors to switch patients to cheaper generic medicines.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has won permission to challenge the legality of the Department of Health’s drive to persuade doctors to prescribe generic statins in place of the more costly branded versions.

The government is determined to cut the £7bn (5bn; $3.5bn) a year the NHS pays for branded drugs. With nearly two million Britons taking statins to help lower their cholesterol, the Department of Health estimates that at least £84m a year could be saved if doctors prescribed generic statins.

But a spokesman for the association said that although it supports the government’s desire to get the best value for money, it has “serious concerns” about the methods adopted to persuade doctors to switch their patients to . . .

Keywords:
Publication Types: News MeSH Terms: Drug Industry/legislation & jurisprudence* Drugs, Generic/supply & distribution* Government Great Britain Health Policy Substances: Drugs, Generic