Pfizer, Flynn Get Record Fine on 2,600% Drug Price Increase
- CMA imposes record fines for abusing dominant position
- Companies increased prices on epilepsy drug, regulator says
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Pfizer Inc. and Flynn Pharma Ltd. were fined a record amount for abusing their dominant position in the U.K. by charging unfair prices for unbranded versions of the Epanutin anti-epilepsy drug.
The Competition and Markets Authority fined Pfizer 84.2 million pounds ($106 million) and Flynn Pharma 5.2 million pounds after they increased prices by as much as 2,600 percent in September 2012, the regulator said Wednesday. The price increases occurred after Pfizer transferred distribution rights to Flynn, which sold the medicine by its generic name, phenytoin sodium.