
AbbVie sue NHS over hepatitis C drug procurement
pharmafile | November 8, 2018 | News story | Business Services | AbbVie, NHS, britain, court, hep C, hepatitis, ruling
American pharma firm AbbVie are suing Britain’s NHS after claiming that the health service’s procurement of hepatitis C drugs breached procurement rules.
AbbVie have claimed that the NHS failed in its duty to treat all bidders fairly after it launched the single largest procurement of medicines ever conducted by the NHS in spring of this year.
The procurement which was launched as part of an effort to lower the price of drugs for hepatitis C, saw NHS England offer three year contracts with the option of extension for an additional two years.
However NHS England has said that the Illinois-based firm’s allegation was “embarrassing for lack of particulars”.
Significantly the court action is set to delay the implementation of the programme. Furthermore, the case has so far been heard in private. However confidentiality restrictions were lifted by Mr Justice Fraser in autumn of this year.
Louis Goss
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