The CEO of AAH Pharmaceuticals, David Bound, has stepped down and will leave the organisation at the end of this year, according to sources.
Bound took over as CEO of the drug wholesaler in 2022, having previously held various positions within the company for over a decade.
He has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, as well as in supply chain management, operations, and trading.
According to a source, pharmacies are driving prices down through ordering cascades, forcing wholesalers to undercut each other just to hold the volume.
Manufacturers are being forced to sell products at a loss to keep supply going, and it makes no economic sense.
"They are destroying value. Entire volumes are switching overnight for a one-pence difference, and the irony is nobody is making any money."
Pharmacies are still capped. Wholesalers and manufacturers are being forced into a loss-making business.
"This is not efficiency. The entire model is on the brink of collapse," the source added.
This state of affairs is not sustainable, as it will force wholesalers to reduce service just to survive, and manufacturers to withdraw.
A fall in production could lead to shortages and put patients at risk.
The source blamed the reimbursement system for the woes faced by the pharmacy sector.
"If we want resilience, we need to fund pharmacy properly and support it to deliver what it is capable of: clinical care, prevention, access, and advice. If we do not, this system will fail."
Drug pricing is a contentious issue across the pharma sector.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) had, in its recent pre-Budget submission, urged the government to address the low and outdated cost-effectiveness thresholds used by NICE, which have remained unchanged for over 20 years.
