Community Pharmacy England (CPE) this week (January 27) called on pharmacies to “check your invoices” as it revealed reports that some have been significantly overcharged by a medicines wholesaler for NHS cholesterol-lowering medication.
It advised pharmacies to ensure they have been charged the correct price by AAH UK for Inclisiran (Leqvio) after some were “incorrectly charged the full NHS list price of £1987.36 per pack instead of the nominal price of £45” against NHS prescriptions.
The issue affects the Inclisiran (Leqvio) 284mg/1.5ml solution for injection pre-filled syringe available to order from AAH UK “as agreed within the commercial agreement between Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd and NHS England (NHSE)”, it said.
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CPE added that pharmacies “should not expect to incur any additional charges or fees from AAH UK” for NHS orders and that they should contact the wholesaler directly to “request a repayment of any additional costs” if they have been overcharged.
If still unresolved, the negotiator advised escalating any issues to Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK and then to CPE itself “should no resolution be identified by the suppliers within five working days of receipt”.
Rectified quickly
CPE told C+D that between January and October 2024, approximately 10,000 items of Inclisiran were dispensed as both a branded and generic product.
It said that the pricing discrepancy largely stems from a difference between pricing for NHS and private prescriptions, both of which a single pharmacy could be handling and that all identified cases had been rectified quickly.
CPE added that AAH may not always be aware if an order for a product is being made to supply against an NHS or a private prescription.
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And it said that “for dispensing against private prescriptions, stock must be obtained directly from Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK…charged at the current full NHS list price of £1987.36 per pack”.
C+D approached AAH UK for comment.
It comes amid reports in September that AAH was primed to be sold by its German private equity owner Aurelius who hoped to sell the wholesaler for “around” £900 million.
