London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

UK watchdog slaps Advanz pharma company with massive fine over 6,000% price hike on essential thyroid drug

UK watchdog slaps Advanz pharma company with massive fine over 6,000% price hike on essential thyroid drug

The UK competition watchdog slapped a pharma company with a fine of over $100 million after a more-than-tenfold price hike on a crucial thyroid drug, which made it unaffordable for the NHS and forced people to give up treatments.
The hefty penalty was imposed on Advanz – a multinational pharma giant with headquarters in London – as well as on two private equity firms which were previously owners of the businesses now forming part of the company, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The CMS investigation revealed that between 2009 and 2017 the company charged “excessive and unfair prices” for its liothyronine tablets, which are essential for patients with thyroid hormone deficiency.

“They achieved this because liothyronine tablets were among a number of drugs that, although genericised, faced limited or no competition and therefore could sustain repeated price increases,” the statement said.

The hikes began in 2007 and eventually saw the price of the drug growing by a whopping 6,000%, the watchdog said.

According to the BBC, the tablets, which used to cost £20 (about $28) a decade ago, were sold at £248 (nearly $350) in 2017.

There was no viable justification for such a strategy, given that the production costs of the drug and its volumes didn’t change significantly over that period and no meaningful innovations had been introduced, the CMA said.

Instead, Advanz had simply “exploited a loophole enabling it to reap much higher profits,” Andrea Coscelli, the watchdog’s chief executive, said.

The strategy eventually made the drugs too expensive for the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system. The NHS used to pay around £600,000 (about $838,000) for the supply of the thyroid remedy before 2009 but, when the bill had increased to £30 million by 2016, the drugs were placed on the ‘drop list.’

The decisions made by Advanz “came at a huge cost to the NHS, and ultimately to UK taxpayers,” but more importantly they meant “people dealing with depression and extreme fatigue, as a result of their thyroid conditions, were told they could not continue to receive the most effective treatment for them,” Coscelli said.

The fresh fines and the work done by CMA “sends a clear message that breaking the law has serious consequences” for Advanz and the whole pharma sector in the UK, she added.

Advanz itself will be fined around £41 million, while the two private equity firms, HgCapital and Cinven, are finded £8.6 million and £51.9 million respectively. In a statement, an Advanz spokesperson said the company “utterly disagrees” with the CMA’s decision and “will be appealing.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×