21.01.19
NHS wins legal battle over largest ever medicines procurement for hepatitis C drug
NHS England (NHSE) has seen off a legal challenge to its largest ever medicines procurement from an American pharmaceutical firm after the High Court backed the health service’s procurement process for a ground-breaking hepatitis C treatment.
NHSE’s plans to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 are back on track after the High Court dismissed all aspects of AbbVie’s challenge.
The procurement was launched by NHSE last spring in an effort to lower the cost of hepatitis C drugs, but the American firm launched legal proceedings after it claimed NHSE had breached its duty to treat all bidders fairly.
NHSE launched what it called the NHS’s single largest medicines procurement – a deal worth nearly £1bn over five years – in April 2018, but the contract starts dates had to be delayed by six months because of the legal action.
The NHS commissioning board were heavily critical of AbbVie’s challenge, calling it “embarrassing” because it lacked particulars and adding that it “fails at the outset.”
John Stewart, director of specialised commissioning at NHSE, stated that court cases like this one are a “waste of NHS resources and taxpayers’ money,” and said: “In this case, resulting in an unavoidable delay in our efforts to tackle the threat of hepatitis C, which disproportionately affects some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in society.”
He added: “We remain committed to driving best value to help eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 or sooner, and with this court case behind us we can now get on with the job.”
Hepatitis C is a cancer-causing infectious disease which Public Health England estimate infects around 160,000 in England – although half are unaware of their infection.
Whilst the disease can go undetected until the liver becomes damaged, new oral tablets can now successfully cure it in just weeks and the NHS has been trying to implement a number of ‘smart deals’ such as the hepatitis C procurement.
Image credit - georgeclerk