Health Ministry forces labs in Andalusia deal to lower prices

The Health Ministry has carried out its threat to force several laboratories supplying drugs to the Andalusia regional government to lower their prices. The 11 companies took part in a tender last March to supply Andalusia with clopidogrel, an anti-coagulant, and pravastatina, used to lower cholesterol. The overall price reduction is in excess of 20 percent.

The laboratories were warned by the ministry not to enter into a separate supply agreement with the Andalusian health department. One of the companies, Sanofi, pulled out of the deal at the last minute but that did not spare it from the ministerial sanction, which obliges it to reduce the price of Plavix, the name under which Sanofi markets clopidogrel.

Sanofi offered the Andalusia regional government a significant discount on its usual market price in exchange for the right to supply the entire amount of clopidogrel prescribed by the public health system each year, estimated over 800,000 packets a year.

The laboratories that have fallen foul of the Health Ministry's regulations are Bayer, Sanofi, Abbott, Rabanxy, Vir, Medinsa, Uxafarma, Aurobindo, UCB Pharma, Nicomed Pharma and Janssen Cilag.

Vir, which finally supplies Andalusia with clopidogrol, refused to comment as it says it is in the process of preparing for a second round of bidding in two weeks' time.