Epilepsy medicine manufacturers fined for charging excessive prices

Pfizer and Flynn Pharma, manufacturers of phenytoin sodium capsules which are used to treat epilepsy, have been fined a combined total of £69 million by the Competitions Appeal Tribunal (CAT) for “charging excessive prices” between 2012 and 2016.

Around 48,000 people with epilepsy in the UK depend on the drugs supplied by Flynn Pharma and Pfizer to gain seizure control. 

The Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) originally imposed a fine of £90 million on the two companies following its original investigation in 2016 which concluded that they had breached competition law. It said that Pfizer and its distributor Flynn had increased prices by 2,300–2,600%, resulting in annual costs to the NHS increasing from £2m in 2012 to approximately £50m in 2013. 

The two pharmaceutical companies challenged the decision at the time and the case was referred back to the CMA for further consideration, which is known as a ‘remittal’. The CMA re-opened the investigation in 2020, and issued a ‘remittal decision in 2022, which reduced the fines to £63.3m for Pfizer and £6.7m for Flynn. Both companies appealed the decision.

The tribunal’s November 2024 judgement is the outcome of the appeals. It ruled that the parties had intentionally abused their dominant positions in the market and the tribunal “concluded that the firms had infringed the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998.

Pfizer has responded that it does not agree with the outcome of the tribunal and Flynn has not commented at time of publication. 

Epilepsy Society Chief Executive, Clare Pelham said; “We welcome the decision by the Competitions and Market Authority. Pharmaceutical companies should be free to make a proportionate profit on the medications that they develop, profit that can help to fund research into future innovative drugs that will benefit patients. But increasing the cost of a drug by more than 2,000% and penalising our cash-strapped NHS by £50m is unacceptable in every sense.

“I would hope that Pfizer and Flynn Pharma will go some way towards restoring trust in big pharma by donating part of the £21m they have saved through the reduced fine, to fund vital research into the impact of epilepsy medication on babies during pregnancy

“This would mean so much to families with epilepsy who long to be parents but are fearful of the consequences of their essential medication on an unborn child.

Something positive should-and could-come from this sorry saga.”