Pfizer fined for hiking epilepsy drug price 2,600 pct in UK
LONDON — British regulators fined U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and distributor Flynn Pharma a record 89.4 million pounds ($112.7 million) Wednesday for increasing the cost of an epilepsy drug by as much as 2,600 percent.
Pfizer and Flynn Pharma charged “excessive and unfair prices” for the drug used by 48,000 people in Britain, the Competition and Markets Authority said. Pfizer was fined 84.2 million pounds and Flynn Pharma 5.2 million pounds.
“This is the highest fine the CMA has imposed and it sends out a clear message to the sector that we are determined to crack down on such behavior and to protect customers, including the NHS, and taxpayers from being exploited,” Philip Marsden, chairman of the case decision group for the investigation, said in a statement.