Competition Commission attack on cancer drugs 'riddled with errors'
One drug is not sold in South Africa, another had its price approved by the department of health and a third is about to be provided at the cheapest price in the world to state hospital patients
The Competition Commission is investigating Pfizer for charging excessive prices for a lung cancer drug in South Africa that is not sold locally. On Tuesday‚ the commission stated it was investigating three pharmaceutical companies for "excessive prices" for cancer drugs. But the commission made several mistakes‚ including getting the name of Pfizer's drug wrong. The commission did not note that all drug prices are approved and signed off by the medicines pricing committee in the department of health. The commission said it had information that gives "rise to reasonable suspicion that Pfizer has and continues to engage in excessive pricing conduct in provision of crizotinib". Pfizer confirmed to The Times crizotinib is not registered in South Africa. An unregistered drug cannot be sold in South Africa and will not have a price. The commission complained about the R152‚000 price saying it was in possession of information that this treatment was "unaffordable". Pfizer denied this pric...
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