Cartels blamed for high drug prices

Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) chairman Paul Mwaniki. Medical workers say a dispute over the names of people to be appointed to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board is hampering delivery of services. FILE PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The Ministry of Health and the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) are engaged in a blame game over drug pricing — which in some cases are at 500 per cent more than in other countries.
  • Parallel importation is described as the bringing in of patented or trademarked products from a country where it is already marketed without the permission of the intellectual property owner.
  • Another drug is Augmentin, an antibiotic, whose average wholesale price in the United Kingdom is Sh1,320 but in Kenya it is sold at Sh8,360. A tablet retails at Sh70 in Tanzania; and at Sh150 in Kenya.

Cartels in the pharmaceuticals sector are colluding with multinationals to inflate the prices of common drugs in Kenya, the Sunday Nation has learnt.

The Ministry of Health and the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) are engaged in a blame game over drug pricing — which in some cases are at 500 per cent more than in other countries.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia lays the blame on PSK, which he claims has been opposed to parallel importation of drugs.

“My focus is not to serve the interests of an individual who wants to dictate the price of drugs yet there is a way the medicine can be available to the 40 million Kenyans at a cheaper price. Parallel importation is the only way Kenyans can get drugs at a cheaper price. We are in the process of ensuring that happens,” Dr Macharia said.

But PSK chairman Paul Mwaniki said: “We are not opposed to parallel importation. We are opposed to illegal importation. The people who are saying they are doing parallel imports are not following the guidelines, so it’s being done illegally. If they follow the existing guidelines, we have no problem.”

Parallel importation is described as the bringing in of patented or trademarked products from a country where it is already marketed without the permission of the intellectual property owner.

The World Health Organisation website says: “For example, in Mozambique 100 units of Bayer’s ciprofloxacin (500mg) costs $740, but in India, Bayer sells the same drug for $15 (owing to local generic competition). Mozambique can import the product from India without Bayer’s consent.”

A spot check revealed that some drugs whose prices appear exorbitant are mainly the fast moving ones, like antibiotics and painkillers. For instance, Betapyn, a painkiller, goes at an average of Sh90 per packet in South Africa while in Kenya, the same medicine is being sold at Sh250 per packet.

Another drug is Augmentin, an antibiotic, whose average wholesale price in the United Kingdom is Sh1,320 but in Kenya it is sold at Sh8,360. A tablet retails at Sh70 in Tanzania; and at Sh150 in Kenya.

Then there is Amaryl, which is used by diabetic patients. In Turkey, where the drug originates, it is sold at an average price of Sh90 per packet. But the same drug goes at Sh1,144 per packet in Kenya.

Norvasc, used to treat high blood pressure and chest pains, is another drug whose price appears to have been inflated. In Western countries, a packet of the drug goes for Sh235; and for Sh1,600 in Kenya.

The Kenya Pharmaceutical Distribution Association (KPDA) and PSK have been fighting over the legality of parallel importation.