+- Deep Politics Forum (https://deeppoliticsforum.com/fora)
+-- Forum: Deep Politics Forum (https://deeppoliticsforum.com/fora/forum-1.html)
+--- Forum: Profits before People (https://deeppoliticsforum.com/fora/forum-25.html)
+--- Thread: GlaxoSmithKline accused of market 'abuse' (/thread-10591.html)
GlaxoSmithKline accused of market 'abuse' - David Guyatt - 19-04-2013
For non Brits, the reason why a firm like Glaxo would bribe competitors not to their cheaper versions of Seroxat to market, is that it is a prescription medicine and, therefore, subsidized by the tax payer via the National Health Service.
Quote:GlaxoSmithKline accused of market 'abuse'
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been accused of market "abuse" by the consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The OFT alleges that the pharmaceutical giant paid rivals to delay the release their own versions of GSK's Seroxat treatment.
Alpharma, Generics UK and Norton Healthcare all received money not to enter the market with their copies of Seroxat, it said.
GSK said it "acted within the law".
"GSK supports fair competition," it said.
"In fact, these arrangements actually resulted in generic versions of paroxetine entering the market before GSK's patents had expired," the company said in a statement.
Moreover, it added that "the OFT investigation covers matters that have already been investigated by the European Commission in 2005-2006".
"In March 2012 the Commission announced that it had formally concluded its enquiry with no further action," it said.
"The issues were also reviewed in the European Commission's 2008-2009 Sector Inquiry. Neither investigation resulted in any sanctions against the company."
Dominant player
The generic drug makers were attempting to supply the UK market with their versions of paroxetine, which GlaxoSmithKline brands as Seroxat, the OFT said. Seroxat is used to treat depression.
GSK accused them of infringing its patent, so to resolve this dispute Glaxo effectively paid the three companies off, according to the OFT.
"The paroxetine supply agreements under investigation were terminated in 2004," GSK said.
If proven, the allegations would be an infringement on the part of all the parties of competition law and on the part of GlaxoSmithKline an abuse of its dominant place in the market.
"The introduction of generic medicines can lead to strong competition on price, which can drive savings for the NHS, to the benefit of patients and, ultimately, taxpayers," said Ann Pope, senior director of services, infrastructure and public markets at the OFT.
"It is therefore particularly important that the OFT fully investigates concerns that independent generic entry may have been delayed in this case."
The firms will now be asked to respond to its allegations, before the OFT makes a decision on whether or not competition law has been infringed.
Seroxat began marketing in 1992 by GlaxoSmithKline.
So yet again we see the OFT come rushing over the hill years after bunga-bunga and bleeding the tax payer dry became an issue. Good ol' OFT - we're always able to trust them not to do the right thing until the private profits have been properly stashed.
It's all done in the best possible taste...
GlaxoSmithKline accused of market 'abuse' - Malcolm Pryce - 19-04-2013
Anybody tempted to take Seroxat, or a generic equivalent, would be well advised to first Google the words, 'Seroxat', 'Hell' & 'Withdrawal'. They will discover a vast army of sufferers on the web whose lives have been devastated by Seroxat. It's the most addictive of all the SSRI antidepressants and the list of symptoms that those attempting to come off it suffer is truly frightening. The worse, perhaps, being what they call 'Zaps' which seem to be electrical shocks that originate behind the eyes and flash across the brain. Some people take years to get free, and some never seem to get fully well again. Big Pharma insist Prozac style antidepressants are not addictive but this is a lie. It took me the better part of a year to break free of mine. I did it by a system of tapering the dose. Essentially this meant shaving tiny amounts off the tablets each day with a modelling knife, to reduce the dose by almost imperceptible increments. Thus, over a period of many months, I gradually habituated my body to smaller and smaller doses. It worked eventually and I was lucky, I wasn't on Seroxat and didn't suffer too badly as long as I took the whole thing gently. Judging by the stories on the web I could have tapered Seroxat like that and still not broken free.
GlaxoSmithKline accused of market 'abuse' - Jan Klimkowski - 19-04-2013
Quote:"GSK supports fair competition," it said.
The Daily Bellylaugh.
:moon2: