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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) for each of the last five years the amount the NHS has paid, and (b) the amount it expects to pay in this financial year, for the drug thyroxine; what the unit price was, or is, in each of those years; and what reasons underlay the changes. [96445] Mr. Denham: The data requested are shown in the tables. The amount which the National Health Service pays for any medicine depends on the total quantity prescribed and the price. In the case of thyroxine, the quantity prescribed generically has increased in recent years and during this one. As regards price, the price which the NHS pays for thyroxine, as for other generic medicines, is based on prices which are set by competition in the market place. It is not controlled by government. There has been a spate of shortages of generic medicines during 1999 which have led to price rises, some of which have been dramatic. The increases in the prices of thyroxine tablets have been at the upper end of this range. The total cost of thyroxine for the rest of the financial year will depend on price and volume trends in the coming months. The net ingredient cost for thyroxine sodium preparations dispensed in the community, 1994 to 1998, and 1999 (January to June) England £000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Drug name 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Eltroxin Tab 50mcg 53.0 46.9 42.1 54.6 48.8 21.8 Eltroxin Tab 100mcg 45.3 39.9 36.0 41.7 37.8 17.4 Thyroxine Sod Tab 100mcg 341.9 338.1 350.8 456.7 992.6 3,739.6 Thyroxine Sod Tab 50mcg 402.7 392.9 405.4 548.7 1,088.7 2,637.4 Thyroxine Sod Tab 25mcg 457.2 625.4 1,069.3 1,404.5 1,668.9 1,536.2 Thyroxine Sod Oral Liq 11.1 -- -- -- -- -- @spec Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 2.7 3.3 -- -- -- 75mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 9.5 11.9 18.7 18.2 13.1 50mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 5.1 9.6 10.4 18.1 11.2 100mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 4.5 5.1 7.2 11.7 5.1 125mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 5.2 4.9 6.9 7.9 3.2 25mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 1.8 2.0 -- 150mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 2.8 2.7 -- 250mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 1.9 -- -- 200mcg/5ml Total 1,324.7 1,482.7 1,958.1 2,579.9 3,931.8 8,014.8 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Notes: 1. The data cover all prescriptions dispensed in the community, ie by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. 2. The net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug and does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. 3. For reasons of confidentiality, any individual preparation where less than 50 prescription items were dispensed is excluded. However the total includes all preparations dispensed. The net ingredient cost per quantity for thyroxine sodium preparations dispensed in the community, 1994 to 1998, and 1999 (January to June) England £ _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Drug name 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Eltroxin Tab 50mcg 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.006 Eltroxin Tab 100mcg 0.005 0.005 0.005 0.006 0.006 0.006 Thyroxine Sod Tab 100mcg 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.006 0.042 Thyroxine Sod Tab 50mcg 0.002 0.002 0.002 0.003 0.005 0.025 Thyroxine Sod Tab 25mcg 0.009 0.010 0.014 0.016 0.016 0.027 Thyroxine Sod Oral Liq 0.275 -- -- -- -- -- @spec Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 0.176 0.260 -- -- -- 75mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 0.294 0.287 0.305 0.223 0.240 50mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 0.301 0.234 0.249 0.272 0.280 100mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 0.607 0.418 0.352 0.482 0.507 125mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- 0.226 0.175 0.195 0.228 0.313 25mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 0.219 0.257 -- 150mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 0.752 0.705 -- 250mcg/5ml Thyroxine Sod Liq Spec -- -- -- 0.298 -- -- 200mcg/5ml _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Notes: 1. The data cover all prescriptions dispensed in the community, ie by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. 2. The net ingredient cost is the basic cost of a drug and does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. 3. The quantity of the drug dispensed is measured in units depending on the formulation of the product, for example one tablet or one millilitre. 4. The net ingredient cost per quantity figure is the average over each period and will reflect any price changes in the period.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

96445; 337 c650-2W;337 c650-1W

Session

1998-99

Subjects

Drugs NHS Prescription drugs Prices Thyroxine

Contains statistics

Yes