On 3 February 2022 the UK antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), fined several pharmaceutical companies over 35 million pounds for an illegal arrangement in the supply of important National Health Service (NHS) prescription anti-nausea tablets, namely prochlorperazine 3mg dissolvable or ‘buccal’ tablets.^[1] Under the arrangement, a competitor was paid not to launch a product and price increases were enabled. From 2013 to 2017, the prices paid by the NHS for prochlorperazine increased by 700%. The CMA found that, from June 2013 to July 2018, Alliance Pharmaceuticals, Focus Pharmaceuticals (now owned by ADVANZ PHARMA Corp., previously owned by the private equity firm Cinven Ltd), and Lexon UK ^[2] were involved in the arrangement. Another company (Medreich plc) was involved in the arrangement between February 2014 and February 2018. Alliance Pharmaceuticals Ltd is appealing the CMA’s fine decision.

1. Press release of the CMA of 3 February 2022, ‘CMA fines firms over £35m for illegal arrangement for NHS drug’.[↩]
2. The infringement decision is addressed to the following legal entities: (i) Alliance Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Alliance Pharma plc; (ii) Focus Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Focus Pharma Holdings Ltd, Mercury Pharma Group Ltd, Concordia Investment Holdings (UK) Ltd, Concordia Investments (Jersey) Ltd and Advanz Pharma Corp. Ltd; (iii) Cinven Capital Management (V) General Partner Ltd, Cinven (Luxco 1) S.à.r.l and Cinven Partners LLP; (iv) Lexon (UK) Limited and Lexon UK Holdings Ltd; (v) Medreich plc, Medreich Ltd, Meiji Seika Pharma Co. Ltd and Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd.[↩]