13 January 2009

UniChem announcement following PPRS changes from 1 February 2009

From 1 February 2009, the Government will be reducing the price of branded medicines by 3.9 percent in line with changes to the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS).

Following the details published regarding the new PPRS in December, UniChem has been working closely with the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (BAPW) and with manufacturers to minimise impacts of any devalued stock bought by UniChem prior to the price changes on 1 February 2009.

We are pleased to confirm that for the majority of suppliers we have been able to negotiate a satisfactory settlement. However, there remains a small minority of suppliers for whom we have been unable to agree terms of reimbursement. Accordingly we have had to evaluate alternative options to maintain the commercial viability of our supply chain, while most importantly ensuring that patient supply is not compromised.

Accordingly UniChem has taken the decision that on 1 February 2009 it will retain old PPRS trade prices for a period of up to one month, on the small selection of products where it has been unable to agree satisfactory reimbursement terms with manufacturers.

This decision has come after careful evaluation of every option available to us and we have concluded that this decision enables UniChem to retain necessary levels of stock on the affected products, while covering some of the losses anticipated on any devalued stock.

In line with the Government’s directive that medicines dispensed in February will be reimbursed to pharmacists and dispensing doctors at January prices, we do not believe that retention of old trade prices on this small range of products will have an overriding impact on customers and we believe that this is the most viable option in what is a very difficult situation. We have briefed the BAPW, the PSNC and the Dispensing Doctors Association on this decision accordingly.

We would also like to assure customers that although we have made this decision we hope to continue discussions with the manufacturers concerned via the BAPW, and that we can come to a more satisfactory solution for all parties.

Should you have any specific questions around this decision please do not hesitate to contact your UniChem Account Manager.

I would like to thank our customers for their understanding in this matter and would like to assure of UniChem’s commitment to continuity of medicine supply when these changes come into effect.

John Geddes
Sales Director

For more information please contact:
Sanam Conway, Communications Manager, UniChem, 0208 974 4045