12,000% NHS drug price hike: nationalise big pharma!

photo Creative Commons, photo Creative Commons

photo Creative Commons, photo Creative Commons   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Another drugs company could face punishment after an apparent 12,000% price hike.

Actavis raised the price of a pack of hydrocortisone from 70p in April 2008 to £88 by March 2016. The life-saving chemical treats a wide range of conditions. Only last month, the Competition and Markets Authority fined pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for similar NHS profiteering.

The Socialist welcomes this crackdown. But as any good doctor will tell you, it’s no good treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Nationalise big pharma under democratic workers’ control and management. Then the NHS can control prices and save billions, as well as planning research and production for need, not profit.